THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 


THE  QUALIFIED 
ADVENTURER 


A  NOVEL 


BY 

SELWYN  JEPSON 


NEW  YORK 

HARCOURT,  BRACE  AND  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    1922,   BY 
HARCOURT,    BRACE  AND   COMPANY,   INC. 


PRINTED    IN    THE    U.  8.  A.  BY 

THE    QUINN    &    BODEN    COMPANY 

RAHWAY.    N.    J. 


TO 

TWO  OF  THE  NICEST  PEOPLE  I   KNOW- 
MR.  AND    MRS.   EDGAR   JEPSON 


2136529 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I      THE  FOURTH  SEAT 9 

n  HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG         .          .          .  28 

HI  THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER   .          .          .  57 

IV      CUTTING  CORDS 71 

V  JIMMY        .......  82 

VI  AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  .          .          .          .  95 

VH  THE  SMILING  COOK           .          .          .          .  113 

VIET      PISTOL  PRACTICE 115 

IX  THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER           .          .          .  138 

X      A  BEGINNING 157 

XI      MILK 173 

XH  AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS    .          .          .  1 88 

Xm      MUTINY 202 

XIV      THE  BLOOD  LUST 2l6 

XV  THE  TREASURE  OF   THE  MANCHUS         .  233 

XVI  THE  BIG  MAN  COMES         .          .          .          .252 

XVII      DUFFY  GOES 264 

XVni      THE  OPEN  SEA 280 

XIX      POETIC    JUSTICE 2 96 

XX  AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT         .          .          .  318 


The  Qualified  Adventurer 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  FOURTH  SEAT 

ON  a  fine  June  morning  a  young  man  sat  in  his 
office  in  Dalkeith  House  with  his  feet  tucked  away 
in  the  bottom  drawer  of  his  desk,  which  had  been 
pulled  out  to  receive  them,  while  he  nursed  the 
telephone  and  spoke  into  it  in  snappy  sentences: 

"Very  sorry  about  that,  Turner,  it  was  a  question 
of  leaving  out  the  second  house  ad.  or  cutting  four 
inches  of  a  story  I'd  already  hacked  pretty  badly. 
I  put  'em  both  through  in  the  last  issue."  The  re- 
ceiver buzzed  and  crackled  and  the  young  man  held 
it  farther  from  his  ear.  Presently  the  other  end 
quieted,  and  he  answered,  "Oh,  all  right.  I'll  phone 
the  Works  and  see  about  it.  Sorry.  Good-by." 

He  jerked  the  hook  on  the  instrument. 

"Put  me  through  to  Mr.  Horrocks,  please.  Hullo? 
Mr.  Horrocks?  'Adventure  Novels'  speaking. 
Could  you  let  me  have  'The  Firebrand  of  Galloway 

9 


io          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Creek'  back?  I  want  to  cut  another  four  inches. 
What?  Yes,  but  it's  the  old  question  of  house  ads. 
again.  Mr.  Turner  says  he  must  have  the  second 
in.  New  paper  out  next  week.  Yes;  I'll  let  you 
have  the  galleys  back  before  I  go  to-night.  Thanks. 
Good-by." 

The  young  man  sighed  deeply  and  scowled  out 
of  the  window  at  the  scurrying  crowd;  journalists, 
typists,  lino-men,  office-boys,  and  the  thousand 
other  people  who  produce  newspapers  for  the  world 
that  pivots  round  them.  The  mid-day  search  for 
lunch  had  begun. 

The  young  man  glanced  at  his  wrist-watch. 
Then  he  reached  for  the  telephone  again. 

"Mr.  MacArthur,  please.  Hullo.  Mac?  Food" 
And  he  slammed  down  the  receiver.  Then  he  dis- 
entangled his  legs  from  their  drawer,  found  his  towel 
and  soap  in  a  bundle  of  galley-proofs,  yawned  pro- 
digiously and  walked  out  of  the  room. 

The  young  man  was  Peter  Duff;  he  was  thin,  he 
was  sandy-haired,  and  he  looked  out  on  the  world 
through  big  horn-rimmed  spectacles.  His  face  was 
pale,  his  nostrils  fine  and  sensitive.  His  eyes  might 
have  been  blue;  in  some  lights  there  could  be  no 
doubt  about  it. 

He  was  very  thin.    MacArthur  once  suggested 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  11 

that  if  ever  the  police  actually  got  on  Duffy's  track 
he  would  only  have  to  turn  sideways  to  escape 
observation  altogether.  Peter  Duff  resented  the 
imputation  and  bought  several  elastic  exercisers  with 
which  to  thicken  himself,  but  with  very  little  result 
beyond  the  conviction  that  he  had  wasted  his  money 
and  his  time. 

And  Peter  Duff  was  a  journalist.  For  three 
years  he  had  pursued  that  occupation  with  consider- 
able aptitude  for  his  particular  branch  of  it — ad- 
venture. 

What  Peter  Duff  did  not  know  about  adventure 
was  not  worth  knowing.  He  could  tell  you  exactly 
what  should  happen  at  any  stage  of  any  adventure 
you  cared  to  take — mentally.  His  friends  in  Dal- 
keith  House,  and  he  had  many,  came  to  him  often 
to  unravel  the  situations  they  had  worked  up  in  the 
story  they  were  sub-editing  at  the  moment.  And 
Duffy  after  demanding  the  story  up-to-date  in  as 
short  sentences  as  the  sub-editor  of  it  could  put  it, 
would  jerk  out  the  proper  end  for  it  in  expert  words. 
Duffy,  as  the  world  knew  him,  was  an  expert  in 
adventure. 

At  the  age  of  five  Duffy  had  learned  to  read.  By 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  had  mastered  the  world's  litera- 
ture of  adventure.  He  could  quote  verbatim  whole 


12          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

chunks  of  Jack  London,  Stacpoole,  and  Victor 
Bridges;  and  he  was  always  ready  to  do  it.  That 
gift  had  something  to  do  with  the  getting  of  his  par- 
ticular job  at  Dalkeith  House — the  sub-editing  of 
Dalkeith  Adventure  Novels — four  of  which  he  pre- 
pared for  the  eager  youth  of  Great  Britain  every 
month.  Occasionally  he  wrote  one  himself,  but  as 
he  pointed  out  to  Mac  Arthur  and  Binks:  the  sub- 
editor who  knew  his  job  sub-edited,  and  let  the  other 
fellow  do  the  work. 

Duffy  was  repeating  this  maxim  to  a  man  in  the 
"wash-house"  when  Binks  joined  him. 

Binks  was  tall  and  broad  with  flaxen  hair  and  a 
cherubic  countenance;  very  pink  and  very  white. 

"  'Morning,  Binks.    How's  the  'sob'  stuff?" 

"Fair  to  middling.  James  is  holding  up  that 
'Gutter  to  Greenroom'  synopsis  and  won't  tell  me 
if  he  wants  the  story  or  not.  I've  got  to  get  some 
money  from  somebody  in  the  course  of  the  next 
fortnight,"  said  Binks  cheerfully.  The  fact  that  he 
was  short  of  money  did  not  weigh  heavily  upon  him. 

"I  phoned  Mac.  He's  meeting  us  at  the  Cafe," 
said  Duffy. 

"Good,"  said  Binks. 

"Well,  buck  up,  or  he'll  let  somebody  collar  our 
seats,"  said  Duffy  gloomily. 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  13 

They  walked  out  after  collecting  their  hats  and 
sticks,  descended  in  the  lift  and  walked  through  the 
revolving  door  into  the  sunlight  of  Fleet  Street. 

Duffy  drew  a  deep  breath  and  blinked  in  the 
bright  light.  Then  he  turned  to  Binks. 

"We're  deeper  in  our  rut,  Binks,"  he  said. 
"We're  plowing  along  in  the  dear  old  rut." 

"Who's  getting  in  a  rut?"  asked  Binks — he  was 
thinking  of  Mildred  and  that  £1000  a  year  he  had 
got  to  get  from  somewhere  before  .  .  .  "She  ought 
to  know,"  he  added. 

Duffy  scowled  at  him. 

"Forget  Mildred  for  a  moment.  I  say  we  are 
getting  in  a  rut.  Day  after  day,  week  after  week, 
year  after  year  we  do  exactly  the  same  thing.  We 
arrive  at  the  office — always  half-an-hour  late;  work, 
lunch,  same  place,  same  table,  same  waitress.  Mac 
always  has  steak,  fried,  and  a  Bass;  he  knows  he 
always  has  it;  Trixie  knows  he  always  has  it;  but 
she  takes  his  order,  dish  by  dish,  as  though  he'd 
never  been  to  the  Cafe  before.  I  don't  believe  Mac 
has  ever  done  anything  he  hasn't  done  before.  We 
eat,  go  back  to  the  office — turn  out  the  same  stuff — 
don't  give  'em  anything  new  or  they'll  think  they're 
being  done — five-thirty  we  go  home — same  thing  all 
over  again  next  day.  Every  week-end  you  go  down 


I4          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

to  Mildred's — Mac  takes  his  motor-bike  to  pieces 
again." 

"What  about  you?"  asked  Binks.  "I  suppose 
you  aren't  in  a  rut?" 

"Yep — I  know  I  am — but  I  do  try  to  kick  you 
blighters  out  of  it."  He  looked  gloomy. 

"You  do;  and  spoil  our  lunch  by  taking  us  to 
some  low  Soho  joint,  making  us  eat  rotten  food. 
It  all  tastes  exactly  the  same,  and  we  have  to  make 
a  bus  journey  there  and  back  to  get  it.  I  hate  the 
food  and  I  hate  the  bus,"  said  Binks. 

"Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you,"  asked  Duffy  sol- 
emnly, "what  might  happen  at  Pineffii's?  Do  you 
realize  a  man  was  knifed  there  three  years  ago  and 
that  there  is  every  chance  it  will  happen  again?  If 
it  does,  and  I  am  not  there,  I  will  never  forgive  you. 
We  ought  to  eat  at  Pineffi's!" 

"We  ought  not,"  retorted  Binks.  "I  may  be 
conservative;  I  may  even  be  in  a  rut,  but  I  certainly 
like  my  lunch  in  comparative  peace.  It's  made 
bloodthirsty  enough  by  your  conversation.  I 
should  have  thought  you  got  quite  enough  blood- 
shed in  'Dalkeith  Novels'  without  wanting  to  drag 
it  into  your  meals." 

"One  can  never  have  one's  fill  of  adventure,"  said 
Duffy  solemnly,  and  he  blinked  through  his  spec- 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  15 

tacles  at  the  unimaginative  Binks.  "Adventure  is 
life,  and  life  is  adventure,  in  everything  is  adventure 
— if  you  care  to  look  for  it,"  he  added. 

Binks  refused  to  be  dragged  into  the  discussion 
of  a  matter  in  which  he  knew  Duffy  was  unassail- 
able. He  felt  sometimes  that  if  Duffy  had  been 
allowed  to  go  to  France  by  the  medical  people, 
France  might  have  knocked  a  little  of  it  out  of  him; 
but  he  was  not  sure.  It  might  have  made  him 
worse;  he  might  conceivably  have  thrived  on  it. 
Duffy  certainly  knew  more  about  the  inside  strategy 
of  the  war  than  either  himself  or  MacArthur,  though 
they  had  both  been  in  the  thick  of  it.  Duffy's 
demonstration  of  the  Battle  of  Loos  with  the  salt- 
cellar and  most  of  the  cutlery  had  fed  them  up  at 
many  meals.  He  preserved  an  aloof  silence. 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  Cafe,  and 
Duffy,  with  a  gloomy  frown,  followed  Binks  across 
it  to  their  table.  He  did  not  approve  of  the  way 
in  which  Binks  nodded  to  acquaintances  and  passed 
airy  words  with  the  cashier;  besides  she  frizzed  her 
hair.  Binks  was  thoroughly  at  home.  He  was  the 
perfect  habitue — that  was  the  word. 

So  Duffy  tried  to  look  as  though  he  was  a  trusty 
member  of  the  Secret  Service  and  not  the  mere  friend 
of  Binks.  He  managed  very  well  to  give  the  im- 


1 6          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

pression  of  a  heavily  mustached,  much  mufflered 
servant  of  the  Crown  about  to  denounce  a  traitor. 
He  almost  slouched. 

MacArthur  had  already  taken  his  usual  seat;  he 
put  down  his  "John  O'London,"  the  only  paper  he 
ever  read,  and  greeted  them  cheerfully.  He  looked 
hard  at  Duffy. 

"How's  Duffy?  I  hope  you  disarmed  him  at 
the  door,  Binks?" 

Binks  laughed. 

"No;  but  he's  still  talking  about  Pinem's." 

"As  long  as  he  doesn't  taste  it,  I  suppose  it's  fairly 
harmless,"  said  MacArthur.  "I've  known  him  far 
more  dangerous." 

He  might  have  been  talking  about  a  patient  in  a 
lunatic  asylum.  Duffy  was  used  to  it — he  helped 
himself  to  a  roll.  Trixie  came  to  them  and  they 
gave  their  orders.  MacArthur  studied  the  menu 
carefully  and  ordered  steak,  fried,  and  a  Bass. 

"Try  a  Worthington,  Mac,"  suggested  Duffy. 

"I  had  Worthington  yesterday,"  replied  Mac- 
Arthur. 

"Never!"  ejaculated  Duffy,  surprise  and  joy 
spreading  over  his  face.  He  reached  across  the 
table  and  shook  MacArthur  firmly  by  the  hand. 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  17 

"Owl ! "  remarked  MacArthur.  "What's  the  mat- 
ter with  him,  Binks?" 

"Only  the  rut  business  again/'  said  Binks  in  a 
tired  voice.  "Pass  the  rolls,  Mac.  Thanks." 
There  was  a  short  pause,  then  Binks  commenced: 

"By  the  way,  do  you  people  realize  that  you  have 
to  pay  at  least  thirty  guineas  for  a  decent  fur  coat?" 

"I  did  not,"  said  MacArthur.     "Why?" 

"Mildred  has  got  to  have  a  fur  coat.  They  cost 
thirty  guineas." 

"You  can  get  two  very  nice  little  .32  automatics 
for  thirty  guineas,"  remarked  Duffy.  His  voice  had 
an  enthusiastic  ring  in  it.  "I  saw  two  at  Carnage's 
the  other  day.  I  think  I'm  going  to  buy  them." 

Binks  opened  his  mouth  to  point  out  the  stupidity 
of  buying  automatics  no  one  was  ever  going  to  use 
when  one  could  bring  ecstasy  to  the  heart  of  a  fur- 
coatless  Mildred  for  the  same  money,  when  a  small, 
round  little  man  with  golden  spectacles  and  a  shiny 
bald  head  stopped  at  their  table  and  eyed  the  fourth 
seat. 

"Is  this  chair  reserved,  gentlemen?"  he  inquired 
in  a  soft,  rather  engaging  voice.  They  assured  him 
it  was  not,  and  all  three  smiled  their  welcome. 
They  felt  their  lunch  was  incomplete  if  the  fourth 


i8         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

seat  remained  empty  through  it.  While  the  small, 
round  little  man  divested  himself  of  his  coat — a 
light,  extravagant  coat — Duffy  leaned  across  the 
table  and  hissed  between  his  teeth: 

"Dealer  in  precious  stones;  rich;  married." 

The  dealer  in  precious  stones  returned  and 
seated  himself.  He  peered  at  the  menu  MacArthur 
handed  him.  The  three  waited  respectfully. 

"Is  the  grilled  chicken  good?"  he  asked  at  length. 

"Not  bad,"  answered  Duffy.  Binks  and  MacAr- 
thur looked  at  him;  their  journalistic  minds  apprais- 
ingly  fixed  on  the  fact  that  Duffy  had  never  eaten 
grilled  chicken  at  the  Cafe — even  in  his  palmiest 
days. 

"The  only  place  to  eat  grilled  chicken  is  the 
Maison  Coquille  in  the  Rue  d'Arriere — Paris — but 
I  expect  you  know  that,"  he  went  on. 

"Yes — yes,"  assented  the  little  man,  rather  too 
hastily  to  be  convincing. 

"Though  the  Pallistrado  people  do  it  pretty  well 
— but  it's  some  little  while  since  I  was  in  Madrid. 
It  has  probably  gone  off  a  good  deal  since  the  war. 
Most  of  those  big  places  have."  Duffy  was  gazing 
gloomily  at  the  fan-light  over  their  heads.  He  was 
obviously  back  in  Madrid — before  the  war. 

MacArthur  picked  up  his  paper  and  began  to  read 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  19 

"Answers  to  Correspondents."  Duffy  had  started 
and  he  knew  from  experience  that  there  would  be 
no  stopping  him.  It  depended  on  the  amount  of 
strain  the  fourth  seat  man's  credulity  could  stand.. 
Usually  it  was  more  than  one  expected:  Duffy  was 
a  singularly  convincing  young  man — he  was  a  spe- 
cialist. 

"You  know  Madrid,  young  man?"  asked  the 
little  man. 

Duffy  hated  being  addressed  as  "young  man." 
His  gloom  deepened  and  he  ceased  regarding  the 
fan-light  to  look  steadily  at  the  little  man. 

"Pretty  well — but  things  were  a  little  too  hot  at 
the  time  for  me  to  take  very  much  notice  of  the  city 
itself.  I  was  fully  occupied  with  its  citizens,"  and 
Duffy  broke  his  roll  expressively. 

"Oh?"  said  the  little  man  in  a  tone  that  invited 
details. 

Duffy  knew  the  value  of  a  pause.  He  removed 
his  horn-rimmed  spectacles  and  screwed  up  his  eyes 
while  he  polished  the  big  lenses  with  a  very  ornate 
silk  handkerchief  from  his  breast  pocket.  He  re- 
placed the  spectacles  on  his  nose  and  leaned  for- 
ward: 

"You've  heard  of  Meredith  of  the  Foreign  Office?" 

"I  think  so— yes?" 


20         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Well,  he  finds  me  things  to  do,  you  know,  when 
I  get  sick  of  sitting  around.  There  was  a  little 
matter  he  wanted  fixed  in  Madrid.  The  extremist 
party — revolutionaries,  you  know — collared  some 
important  naval  secret  by  bribing  a  fellow  in  the 
Spanish  Admiralty.  Then  they  started  in  to  black- 
mail Don  Miguel,  being  as  usual  very  hard-up. 
There  was  no  harm  in  their  doing  that,  it's  a 
recognized  thing,  you  know,  out  there;  but  Don 
Miguel  suddenly  decided  that  a  Britisher  had  put 
them  up  to  it  and  held  the  papers,  intending  to  get 
all  he  could  out  of  them  and  then  sell  out  to  the 
British  Admiralty.  Don  Miguel  got  the  "wind  up" 
sufficiently  to  cable  our  people  here.  Meredith  sent 
me  along." 

Duffy  stopped  and  ran  his  fingers  through  his 
sandy  hair.  The  little  man  regarded  him  with 
respectful  eyes.  Duffy  felt  he  had  really  found 
some  one  to  appreciate  him.  He  became  even  more 
convincing.  His  voice  dropped  a  tone  and  he  spoke 
slowly. 

"It  took  me  every  day  of  three  months  to  get 
those  papers  back  where  they  came  from.  Longest 
job  I  ever  had." 

Here  Binks  interrupted.  Binks  had  been  enjoy- 
ing himself. 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  21 

"There  was  that  Los  Angeles  business,"  he  said. 
"You  wasted  six  months  on  that."  Duffy  turned 
grateful  eyes  on  him. 

"Don't  I  know  it!  But  you  must  admit  that 
was  a  frost.  If  Hiram  K.  had  told  me  the  whole 
story  right  away  at  the  beginning  I  need  hardly 
have  spent  a  fortnight  at  it.  It  was  only  a  matter 
of  getting  Kitten  knocked  on  the  head.  When  I 
did  find  out,  and  then  without  any  help  from  Hiram 
K.,  Kitten  offered  no  trouble  at  all.  Nor  would  he 
five  months  earlier.  I  had  him  under  my  thumb 
from  the  beginning." 

"That's  so,"  said  Binks  gravely,  and  he  adopted 
the  air  of  a  patient  listener  again.  The  little  man 
had  been  looking  from  one  to  the  other.  He  seemed 
very  eager  not  to  miss  a  word.  Trixie  brought  his 
grilled  chicken,  but  he  hardly  noticed  it.  MacAr- 
thur  did.  He  looked  up  from  his  paper  and  sniffed 
— audibly. 

"Well,"  continued  Duffy.  "I  spent  the  first 
month  trying  to  find  out  who  Don  Miguel  really 
meant  when  he  talked  about  the  Britisher.  As  we 
thought,  he  was  a  nebulous  person  more  or  less 
created  for  the  purposes  of  a  scapegoat.  After  I 
had  proved  this  to  them  the  least  I  could  do  was 
to  produce  the  real  crook.  I  spent  the  second  month 


22         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

trying  to  do  it.  Eventually  I  discovered  through 
the  wife  of  the  man  who'd  sold  the  documents  that 
he'd  been  very  pally  with  a  woman  who  had  a  con- 
siderable say  in  the  extremist  crowd;  the  crowd 
who  had  organized  the  shooting  up  of  certain  Cab- 
inet ministers  in  Madrid.  That  was  the  beginning 
of  the  end.  I  satisfied  myself  the  girl  was  the 
culprit  and  after  extracting  the  documents  and  a 
confession  from  her,  bundled  her  out  of  the  country 
and  took  the  fruits  to  the  Spanish  Admiralty." 

Duffy  finished  with  a  complacent .  smile  and  ex- 
amined his  finger  tips. 

The  little  man  looked  at  him  carefully.  He 
seemed  to  be  weighing  two  things  in  his  mind: 
Duffy's  extremely  youthful  appearance  against  the 
convincing  tone  of  his  recital.  The  convincing 
tone  turned  the  scale. 

Presently  the  little  man  took  a  small  object  from 
his  waist-coat  pocket,  and  handed  it  across  the  table 
to  Duffy. 

"What  do  you  make  of  that?"  he  asked.  He 
was  an  earnest  little  man,  and  his  eyes  never  left 
Duffy's  face.  He  seemed  to  have  made  up  his  mind. 

With  extreme  care  Duffy  examined  the  small  ob- 
ject through  his  spectacles. 

"Marble— black  marble,"  he  said  at  length.    "Chi- 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  23 

nese  or  Japanese,  but  I  don't  know  what  the  carving 
is.  It  looks  rather  like  a  button." 

"It  is  a  button,  a  Chinese  mandarin's  button. 
But  it  is  not  marble,  it  is  jade,  black  jade,  and  about 
three  hundred  to  four  hundred  years  old,"  said  the 
little  man.  His  voice  trembled  a  little.  Even  if 
he  was  not  a  dealer  in  precious  stones,  Duffy  de- 
cided, he  was  a  fellow  specialist,  and  he  began  to 
feel  qualms  of  conscience  at  having  pulled  the  little 
man's  leg.  But  he  could  not  very  well  declare  him- 
self a  leg-puller,  so  he  turned  the  mandarin's  button 
over  in  his  hand.  It  had  a  very  satisfactory  feel, 
and  Duffy  almost  stroked  it.  He  rubbed  it  between 
his  fingers. 

The  little  man  produced  two  more  pieces  of  jade 
from  another  pocket,  and  handed  them  across  to 
Duffy. 

"I  like  to  see  a  man  feel  a  piece  like  that,"  he 
said;  "after  a  while  one  feels  a  new  piece  almost 
before  one  looks  at  it.  Do  you  collect  jade,  young 
man?" 

"No,"  said  Duffy.  "It  costs  money,  doesn't 
it?" 

"Some  people  spend  a  lot  of  money  on  it,"  replied 
the  collector,  "but  as  a  rule  they  never  get  much  to 
show  for  it.  Quantity,  perhaps,  but  not  quality." 


24          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Duffy  nodded  and  passed  the  jade  to  MacArthur, 
who,  feeling  that  the  conversation  was  now  on  a 
more  intellectual  plane,  folded  up  his  "John  O'Lon- 
don"  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 

The  jade  was  duly  admired,  and  thereafter  the 
little  man  kept  the  conversation  firmly  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

They  talked  about  the  country  where  jade  had 
been  mined  and  carved  in  the  middle  centuries, 
and  the  collector  of  it  asked  Duffy  in  a  curiously 
eager  voice  if  he  knew  anything  of  China.  Had  he 
been  there  in  the  course  of  his  adventures? 

"No,"  replied  Duffy  without  thinking.  Then  he 
realized  his  reticence  and  proceeded  to  recognize  in 
it  the  hand  of  conscience.  He  felt  he  had  failed  his 
reputation. 

To  any  one  but  a  fellow  specialist,  Duffy  would 
in  all  probability  have  furnished  a  detailed  account 
of  his  last  international  adventure  in  that  land. 

Binks  looked  at  him  in  surprise.  This  reticence 
was  indeed  unlike  Duffy. 

"Why  do  you  ask?"  Duffy  asked  of  the  little 
man,  and  then  feeling  that  his  reputation  as  an 
adventurer  could  not  be  allowed  to  suffer  any 
longer,  added: 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  25 

"But,  of  course,  I  know  the  general  run  of  that 
part  of  the  world  pretty  well  as  far  as  the  sea  is 
concerned." 

Binks'  face  cleared  of  its  surprise.  The  little  man 
nodded  with  a  satisfied  air  and  re-pocketed  the  pieces 
of  jade,  which  Mac  Arthur  handed  him.  He  kept 
his  eyes  on  Duffy,  and  Duffy  had  the  feeling  that  if 
those  eyes  had  not  been  so  mild,  they  might  have 
been  likened,  with  but  little  stretch  of  imagination, 
to  those  of  an  eagle.  Of  Binks  and  MacArthur  the 
little  man  was  entirely  oblivious. 

At  length  Trixie  brought  them  their  bills  and, 
as  usual,  Duffy,  who  was  a  small  eater,  had  diffi- 
culty in  persuading  her  that  the  other  two  had  eaten 
between  them  four  of  the  five  rolls.  The  matter 
finally  and  amicably  settled,  they  bade  the  little  man, 
who  still  remained  in  the  fourth  seat,  "good  day," 
and  started  for  the  cashier's  desk. 

Duffy  brought  up  the  tail  of  the  procession, 
reached  the  desk,  and  discovered  he  had  left  a 
glove. 

He  scowled  the  scowl  of  a  detective  who  has 
overlooked  an  important  clue  and  walked  back  to 
their  table.  The  little  man  beamed  on  him  and 
held  up  the  glove. 


26         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Good!"  he  exclaimed  in  a  low  voice.  "My  little 
trick  has  met  with  success."  And  he  chuckled. 

Duffy  took  the  glove  and  looked  solemnly  at  this 
little  man  who  played  tricks  with  adventurers. 

The  collector  beckoned  with  a  round  forefinger 
and  Duffy  bent  down. 

"Here  is  my  card,"  whispered  the  little  man, 
slipping  it  into  Duffy's  hand.  "If  you  care  to  look 
in  some  day  during  the  next  week  I  think  I've  got 
an  idea  that  may  appeal  to  you."  Then  he  raised 
his  voice.  "So  glad  you  discovered  your  loss  before 
you'd  gone  any  further.  Good-day.  Good-day  to 
you." 

Duffy  feeling  a  little  bewildered  but  fully  con- 
vinced he  had  met  an  adventure  at  last,  raised  his 
hat  politely,  slipped  the  card  into  his  pocket,  and 
hurriedly  paid  his  bill.  Binks  and  MacArthur  were 
waiting  for  him  a  trifle  impatiently. 

"Glove,"  he  said  in  explanation.  "Left  it  on  the 
table." 

And  he  left  it  at  that. 

Duffy  waited  until  he  was  in  his  office  again  be- 
fore examining  the  card;  then  he  sorted  it  out  from 
a  bundle  of  papers  and  old  envelopes,  and  read 
thereon: 


THE  FOURTH  SEAT  27 

"MR.  CARFEW  NORTHCOTE" 

and  below  the  name  an  address  in  St.  John's  Wood. 
To  Duffy  the  very  name  spelled  adventure,  and  he 
propped  his  link  with  romance  against  his  inkpot: 
Then  he  clasped  his  long  fingers  together  and  lost 
himself  forthwith  in  a  maze  of  dreams  which  had 
no  little  spice  of  conjecture  in  them.  In  fact  he 
thoroughly  enjoyed  himself. 

Later  Duffy  cut  four  inches  out  of  "The  Fire- 
brand of  Galloway  Creek"  and  returned  the  proofs 
to  Mr.  Horrocks.  His  attitude  to  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding was  undistressed  to  the  point  of  cheer- 
fulness. 


CHAPTER  II 

HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG 

Ax  five-thirty  Duffy  slammed  his  desk,  collected 
the  weekly  budget  of  Dalkeith  House  publications 
from  the  top  of  the  cupboard,  and  set  off  homewards 
to  Harpenden. 

In  Harpenden  Duffy  had  dwelt  as  long  as  he 
could  remember,  amidst  the  quiet  serene  atmos- 
phere shed  upon  the  world  by  his  Aunt  'Tilda,  for 
when  Duffy's  parents  died  of  typhoid  within  a  week 
of  each  other  it  was  Aunt  'Tilda  who  descended 
upon  the  small  child  and  took  him  to  live  with  her 
at  "Thornby,"  hoping  to  find  in  the  caring  for  him 
an  outlet  for  a  mother-love  she  had  been  denied. 
For  Aunt  'Tilda  there  had  only  been  one  man,  a 
noble  man,  the  Curate  of  St.  Stephen's,  Harpenden. 
He,  to  his  everlasting  regret,  loved  another.  Poor 
noble  soul! 

And  so  Aunt  'Tilda  had  brought  up  Duffy  in 
the  way  he  should  go,  with  all  the  painstaking 
Christian  regard  for  the  proprieties  that  troubled 
her  mid- Victorian  mind. 

3$ 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  29 

In  his  very  early  days  the  young  Duffy  had 
discovered  the  wisdom  of  going  the  way  he  should 
go  with  as  little  noise  as  possible.  He  had  learned 
to  dwell  in  the  placid  world  of  "Thornby"  with  an, 
ease  of  mind  truly  remarkable  in  a  soul  of  such 
violent  inclinations.  In  his  natural  patience  he 
possessed  an  invaluable  asset.  It  was  a  rare 
patience,  a  patience  for  the  people  who  could  not 
understand  him. 

He  found  that  patience  very  necessary  at  the 
age  of  fourteen,  when  he  decided  to  keep  a  blood- 
hound, and  later,  when  he  found  life  a  poor  sort  of 
thing  if  it  were  not  enlivened  by  the  possession  of 
a  revolver,  for  the  people  who  did  not  understand 
him  increased  their  number  considerably  under  the 
strain  of  these  two. 

The  police,  in  a  burst  of  confidence  which  they 
did  not  have  to  live  very  long  to  regret,  granted 
Duffy  the  license  necessary  to  procure  and  keep 
the  revolver  and  ammunition. 

It  was  a  revolver  of  astounding  caliber. 

When  the  police  took  it  away  along  with  what  re- 
mained of  the  ammunition,  Aunt  'Tilda  breathed 
a  sigh  of  profound  relief  and  Duffy  had  to  content 
himself  with  the  less  romantic  possibilities  the  local 
rifle  club  offered  him. 


3o          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

The  bloodhound  Duffy  managed  to  keep,  despite 
the  violent  protests  of  the  neighboring  chicken 
farmers,  for  six  years,  but  it  was  more  than  Har- 
penden  or  Aunt  'Tilda  could  stand  when  Duffy  and 
the  bloodhound  trailed  a  terror-stricken  grocer  over 
four  long  miles  of  rain-soaked  plow-land. 

So  the  bloodhound  went  the  way  of  the  revolver, 
and  Harpenden  once  more  allowed  its  chickens  to 
wander  as  they  would. 

But  in  spite  of  Aunt  'Tilda's  occasional  lack  of 
understanding  Duffy  had  a  sincere  affection  for  her, 
and  she  was  devoted  to  him  in  spite  of  his  efforts 
to  interrupt  the  even  tenor  of  their  way.  He  was 
ruminating  on  the  vague  chance  that  that  tenor  was 
once  more  to  be  interrupted,  as  he  left  the  office. 

In  Farringdon  Street,  Duffy  stopped  at  a  second- 
hand book-seller's  and  bought  a  large  volume  on 
Chinese  Jade  and  two  on  the  geographical  aspects 
of  China. 

Laden  with  these  and  the  Dalkeith  House  pub- 
lications he  eventually  trudged  down  the  quiet  main 
street  of  Harpenden  and  up  the  flagged  path  of 
"Thornby." 

Aunt  'Tilda  welcomed  him  and  gave  him  his 
high  tea,  beguiling  him  through  it  with  the  delin- 
quencies of  Mrs.  Parmarsh,  who  had  been  caught  in 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  31 

the  flagrant  act  of  smoking  a  Russian  cigarette 
through  the  window  of  her  sitting-room. 

"Russian!  my  dear,  Russian!"  cried  Aunt  'Tilda, 
"and  in  Harpenden  of  all  places.  It  seems  even  here 
we  cannot  escape  the  terrible  consequencs  of  this — 
this  emancipation  of  women."  Aunt  'Tilda  said 
"emancipation"  as  though  it  came  out  of  a  medical 
dictionary  and  was  therefore  not  quite  nice. 

Duffy  shifted  his  mind  sufficiently  off  the  book 
on  Jade,  which  he  had  leaned  against  the  tea-pot, 
to  wonder  idly  how  his  aunt  knew  it  was  a  Russian 
cigarette. 

He  said  nothing  about  his  meeting  with  "Carfew 
Northcote,"  knowing  the  futility  of  trying  to  con- 
vince his  aunt  that  it  is  possible  to  speak  to  a  man 
to  whom  one  has  not  been  introduced  in  the  regu- 
lation manner  without  having  one's  pocketbook 
snatched. 

Presently  Aunt  'Tilda  retired  into  the  spotless, 
copper-bedecked  kitchen  to  galvanize  Annie  into 
a  more  feverish  attack  on  the  already  glittering 
silver  on  the  sideboard.  Duffy  gave  her  the  bundle 
of  Dalkeith  publications  to  distribute  to  the  kitchen 
staff,  and  settled  himself  to  the  Chinese  Jade. 

He  had  been  deciding  in  his  own  mind  that  he 
must  wait  at  least  two  days  before  he  called  on 


32      .    THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Mr.  Carfew  Northcote.  At  whatever  cost  to  his 
desire  to  learn  "the  idea  that  might  appeal  to  him," 
he  must  not  appear  too  eager.  That  was  not  busi- 
ness and  certainly  not  the  policy  of  an  adventurer. 
An  adventurer  waits  for  the  adventure  to  come  to 
him,  he  does  not  go  to  the  adventure.  At  least  a 
hardened  adventurer  does  not. 

But  this  decision  to  be  politic  and  act  in  accord- 
ance with  the  rules  formulated  by  the  recognized 
adventurers  did  not  stand  very  long  before  the  flood 
of  Duffy's  desire  to  be  one  of  them  as  soon  as  he 
possibly  could. 

Or  perhaps  Madeleine  had  something  to  do  with 
it,  or  rather  Madeleine's  skepticism. 

Madeleine  was  the  daughter  of  Mrs.  Parmarsh 
of  the  Russian  cigarettes  and  she  was  a  delightful 
girl  of  delightful  parents.  They  lived  opposite 
"Thornby"  in  a  rather  quaint  house  set  in  a  garden 
full  of  roses. 

Duffy  had  known  the  Parmarshes  over  a  year 
and  Madeleine  a  week  longer  than  that. 

He  had  noticed  that  Madeleine  traveled  up  to 
Town  in  the  same  train,  and  looking  for  adventure 
as  usual,  he  found  it  one  morning  in  the  shape  of  a 
bullet-headed  man  with  side  whiskers  who  entered 
into  a  discussion  with  Madeleine  about  the  advan- 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  33 

tages  and  disadvantages  of  fresh  air  in  a  stuffy 
smoking  carriage  on  a  warm  summer's  morning. 

Duffy  was  in  the  carriage. 

He  entirely  agreed  with  Madeleine,  and  implied 
as  much  in  his  remarks  to  the  bullet-headed  one 
concerning  his  appalling  manners  and  disrespectful 
attitude  towards  a  lady.  Duffy  made  a  very  good 
knight  errant.  The  upshot  of  it  all  was  the  arrival 
of  a  bullet-headed  man  with  side  whiskers  on  the 
platform  of  the  small  station  of  Elstree  in  a  cloud 
of  dust. 

The  bullet-headed  man  did  not  want  to  alight  at 
Elstree  and  certainly  not  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  But 
Duffy,  observing  both  the  slow  speed  at  which  the 
train  was  moving,  and  the  convenient  platform, 
opened  the  carriage  door  and  pushed  the  bullet- 
headed  one  out  of  it.  The  fact  that  the  train  was 
moving  a  trifle  faster  than  Duffy  had  supposed  was 
responsible  for  a  scattering  roll  on  the  part  of  the 
bullet-headed  one  before  he  came  finally  to  rest. 
This  caused  the  cloud  of  dust. 

Ultimately,  also,  it  caused  Duffy  to  spend  ten 
good  shillings  at  the  sympathetic  County  Court, 
and  caused  Madeleine  to  become,  as  was  entirely 
proper  and  fitting,  Duffy's  devoted  admirer. 

Duffy  felt  that  the  court,  in  spite  of  its  sympathy, 


34         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

had  not  a  very  high  sense  of  the  value  of  chivalry; 
in  fact  to  any  one  else  the  result  of  that  court's 
finding  would  have  been  discouraging.  To  Duffy 
it  was  not. 

He  had  gained  a  devoted  admirer. 

Madeleine,  while  the  glory  of  Duffy's  noble  action 
was  still  shining  in  Harpenden,  introduced  him  to 
her  people,  and  ever  since  he  had  strolled  across 
the  road  to  "Hurst  Green"  one  or  two  evenings  a 
week. 

Every  morning  he  traveled  up  to  Town  with 
Madeleine  by  the  9.20;  occasionally  he  would 
harrow  the  feelings  of  Binks  and  MacArthur  by 
taking  her  to  the  Cafe  for  lunch.  They  did  not  ob- 
ject to  Madeleine;  on  the  contrary  they  found  her 
entirely  in  sympathy  with  them,  especially  when 
Duffy  became  more  than  usually  bloodthirsty,  but 
Duffy  always  brought  Madeleine  to  lunch  without 
first  informing  them  of  that  intention,  and  they  in- 
variably looked  upon  it  as  an  attempt  to  pry  them 
out  of  their  sacred  rut. 

Duffy  had  often  tried  to  analyze  his  feelings 
towards  Madeleine,  but  with  very  little  success. 
He  felt  sometimes  that  she  lacked  the  proper  appre- 
ciation of  the  more  exciting  things  in  life,  but  his 
feeling  was  probably  due  to  her  ability  to  see 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  35 

through  his  efforts  in  the  realms  of  high  adventure. 
He  did  not  like  her  when  that  ability  displayed 
itself. 

He  should  indeed,  then,  have  known  better  than 
to  tell  her  the  story  of  the  jade  collector  and  his 
"idea  that  might  appeal." 

Duffy  met  her  on  Harpenden  Station  the  next 
morning  and  they  found  their  seats  in  the  9.20. 
Madeleine  noticed  Duffy's  volume:  "Chinese  Jade." 

"Whyfor  so  studious,  Duffy?  Surely  'Adventure' 
arrived  yesterday?"  she  asked. 

"  'Adventure'  arrived  yesterday,"  replied  Duffy. 
"But  I  have  got  to  learn  all  there  is  to  be  learned 
about  jade  before  Friday.  It's  absolutely  neces- 
sary." His  air  was  serious. 

And  then  he  told  her  about  the  little  man  in  the 
fourth  seat. 

Madeleine  was  frankly  incredulous.  She  was 
perfectly  willing  to  believe  that  the  little  collector 
had  sat  in  the  fourth  seat,  but  that  he  had  conceived 
an  "idea  that  might  appeal" — no.  She  saw  in  that 
only  an  ornate  explanation  on  Duffy's  part  for  his 
reading  "Chinese  Jade;"  besides,  why  ever  should 
Duffy  expect  that  the  "idea"  had  anything  to  do  with 
jade?  Merely  because  the  collector  had  shown  him 
a  black  jade  button? 


36          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"I  have  a  hunch,"  replied  Duffy  with  an  expres- 
sion on  his  face  in  which  solemnity  and  pain  were 
nicely  blended,  "that  the  'idea'  is  something  to  do 
with  jade  and  China.  I  am  going  to  buy  two  more 
books  on  jade  and  I  have  two  on  China.  China  and 
jade.  I'm  sure  of  it,"  and  he  scowled  a  little  at 
Madeleine's  disbelief. 

Why  shouldn't  Madeleine  believe  him?  Couldn't 
she  see  he  was  not  "rotting"  this  time?  He  wished 
he  had  not  left  the  little  man's  card  at  the  office;  it 
might  have  convinced  her. 

And  thereafter  Duffy  was  subdued;  to  say  sulky 
might  be  a  little  strong,  but  he  came  very  near  it. 

Madeleine  dismissed  the  subject  as  unworthy  of 
Duffy  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey  talked 
about  the  Amateur  Dramatic  Club  of  which  she 
was  the  enthusiastic  organizer  and  Duffy  the  shining 
light,  a  light  due  mainly  to  his  perfect  willingness 
to  play  the  villain's  ignoble  part  in  play  after  play, 
sketch  after  sketch. 

His  rendering  of  Captain  Hook  in  Peter  Pan  had 
caused  the  children  of  Harpenden  many  sleepless, 
terror-filled  nights. 

Yet  when  Madeleine  referred  to  that  rendering 
he  found  he  could  not  attempt  the  glow  of  pride 
that  the  reminder  usually  brought  him. 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  37 

Duffy  had  the  acute  feeling  that  Madeleine  had 
failed  him — her  disbelief  rankled,  for  he  could  not 
see  any  more  than  could  the  shepherd  boy,  that  the 
lot  of  the  man  who  calls  "wolf"  with  frequency  is 
hard  indeed  when  the  wolf  at  last  arrives. 

Duffy  bade  Madeleine  "good-by"  at  the  top  of 
Farringdon  Street  and  strolled  down  to  Dalkeith 
House,  his  head  bent  in  earnest  thought,  his  arm 
crooked  round  "Chinese  Jade." 

Friday.  Two  days.  There  would  be  two  days 
of  harrowing  anxiety  before  he  could  learn  the 
cause  of  it.  Two  days  can  be  a  mortal  long  time, 
sometimes. 

The  realization  of  this  fact  came  to  Duffy  with 
overwhelming  force  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  that 
lead  up  to  Dalkeith  House,  and  it  was  with  a 
harrowed  scowl  that  he  walked  up  them  and  through 
the  swing  doors.  Parsons,  the  gold-dipped  commis- 
sionaire who  regulates  the  comings  in  and  goings  out 
of  visitors  to  Dalkeith  House,  greeted  him  with  a 
"Good  morning,  sir." 

Duffy  acknowledged  the  wish,  and  walked  into 
one  of  the  lifts.  He  raised  his  hat  politely  to  three 
ladies  of  his  slight  acquaintance,  sub-editresses  of 
various  girls'  papers,  but  the  frown  still  ruffled  his 
brow  as  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  battle 


38         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

that  raged  in  his  mind.  He  was  torn  between  the 
desire  that  had  flourished  in  him  all  his  life — the 
desire  for  the  exciting  things — and  the  desire  that 
came  from  a  rather  newer  phase  in  his  development 
— the  desire  to  be  politic. 

He  entered  his  room,  opened  his  desk,  slipped 
the  book  on  jade  into  a  drawer,  hung  up  his  hat 
and  dropped  languidly  into  his  chair.  The  struggle 
was  wearing.  Then  he  picked  up  Mr.  Northcote's 
card  and  held  it  before  him  between  finger  and 
thumb — the  desire  to  be  politic  wavered  in  its  de- 
termination and  lost  much  of  its  strength.  It  was 
on  the  point  of  disappearing  altogether  when  the 
door  opened  and  Tibbets,  the  small  and  traditionally 
unwashed  office-boy,  brought  in  the  "Adventure 
Novels"  post. 

"Morning,  Mr.  Duff;  post,  sir — wot  the  silly  fools 
sees  in  this  'ere  tripe  'adventure'  stuff,  I  can't  never 
understand.  'Ow  they  ever  gets  readin'  it,  let  alone 
writin'  to  yer  about  it,  beats  me — abso — bally— 
lutely  it  does!" 

Duffy  looked  at  Tibbets  with  stony  disapproval. 
Tibbets  had  been  in  the  office  a  good  ten  months— 
about  three  times  as  long  as  any  of  his  predecessors 
— and  although  Duffy  had  insisted  that  he  should 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  39 

read  every  "Dalkeith  Adventure  Novel"  that  was 
published  that  he  might  acquire  a  respect  for  the 
great  and  wonderful  life  that  those  novels  depicted, 
Tibbets  remained  in  exactly  the  same  attitude  of 
mind  that  he  had  shown  when  he  first  entered  the 
precincts  of  Dalkeith  House;  he  felt  that  beyond 
the  present  and  ultimate  destiny  of  the  "Red  Cap 
Wanderers,"  nothing  in  the  whole  plan  of  creation 
mattered  a  tuppenny  damn — and  he  said  so.  He 
began  saying  so  again,  but  Duffy  was  in  no  mood 
to  listen. 

"Get  out,  Tibbets,  get  out!"  he  said,  and  opened 
the  top  letter  of  the  bundle  the  boy  had  brought. 

"Aw — Goggles!"  remarked  Tibbets,  and  slid 
swiftly  round  the  door.  There  was  no  real  need 
for  speed,  however,  for  Duffy  did  not  rise  to  the 
insult.  He  was  still  worrying.  Should  he  wait  until 
the  end  of  the  week  or  should  he  go  to  Mr.  North- 
cote  to-day ? 

He  read  through  several  letters  from  readers, 
understanding  them  very  little.  Inquiries  into  the 
private  life  of  the  editor,  inquiries  into  his  health, 
did  not  stir  him.  With  one  reader  he  sympathized. 
This  one  wanted  the  address  of  a  certain  stalwart 
"Novel"  hero,  whose  doings  had  decided  him  to 


40         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

throw  in  his  lot  with  the  great  one,  and  join  him  on 
his  next  adventure.  He  was  tired  of  the  dull  rou- 
tine of  days. 

Duffy  understood.  Once  more  he  picked  up  the 
small  piece  of  paste-board  that  linked  him  to  the 
wonder  of  life,  and  again  studied  it.  Again  the  de- 
sire to  be  politic  lessened  and  dwindled;  again  it  was 
on  the  point  of  disappearing  altogether  when  he  was 
interrupted.  This  time  it  was  MacArthur  who 
walked  in,  with  his  face,  like  his  voice,  hinting  at 
some  tragedy. 

"Duffy,  I  want  to  ask  you  something.  Are  you 
busy?"  he  said. 

Duffy  slipped  the  card  into  his  pocket  and  turned. 

"Hullo,  Mac?    What  is  it?" 

MacArthur  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  then  he 
said: 

"Well,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  something  rather  dis- 
turbing has  happened.  You  know  I've  got  an  old 
aunt  in  Scotland ?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  she — she  wants  me  to  go  and  stay  with 
her  during  the  summer.  I'm  going  away  in  a  fort- 
night's time  and  I've  been  trying  to  make  up  my 
mind." 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  41 

"Yes?"  said  Duffy  expectantly.  There  was  a  short 
pause. 

"That's  all,"  said  MacArthur. 

"All — what  do  you  want  me  to  do?  Make  up 
your  mind  for  you?" 

"No — no,"  said  MacArthur  hastily.  "No — but, 
well,  Scotland's  a  long  way  away;  and  I  don't 
know " 

Duffy  looked  at  his  friend;  what  in  the  world 
was  the  use  of  a  man  who  couldn't  make  up  his 
mind?  Couldn't  make  up  his  mind!  Then  he  re- 
membered that  he  couldn't  make  up  his  own  and  he 
looked  at  MacArthur  with  less  angry  eyes. 

"I  think  you  had  better  go,  Mac,"  he  said.  "It 
will  do  you  good  to  get  away  from  Town  for  a  while. 
Rest,  you  know — give  it  a  rest — get  out  of  it  for 
a  while." 

"Yes — upset  my  entire  life;  I  know  it  will! 
That's  exactly  what  I  am  afraid  of!"  MacArthur's 
voice  was  almost  frightened. 

Duffy  looked  at  him  in  a  pitying  way. 

"Poor  old  Mac — you  won't  be  able  to  go  to  the 
Cafe  every  day  for  three  whole  weeks.  Poor  old 
Mac!" 

"Yes,"  said  Mac.    "Three  whole  weeks." 


42          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"But  I  think  you  had  better  go." 

"You  do?"  said  MacArthur  gloomily. 

"Yes." 

There  was  another  pause,  during  which  Duffy 
looked  out  of  the  window  and  the  other  filled  his 
pipe.  Then  MacArthur  said  slowly: 

"I'll  think  about  it,"  and  he  turned  towards  the 
door.  As  he  passed  out,  Duffy  called  after  him: 

"And  that,  my  dear  Mac,  is  just  as  close  to  Scot- 
land as  you  will  ever  get.  Shut  the  door!" 

The  door  slammed,  and  Duffy  began  pacing  slowly 
up  and  down  the  room.  He  was  thinking,  and  Mac- 
Arthur  did  not  occupy  a  very  large  place  in  his 
thoughts. 

Now  here  conies  into  the  story  Mr.  Farrow.  Mr. 
Farrow  has  no  real  bearing  on  matters  except  as  an 
instrument  of  Fate,  for  he  was  directly  responsible 
for  Duffy  having  to  go  to  Russell  Square  that  morn- 
ing, and  in  Russell  Square  an  incident  took  place— 
or  rather  had  its  birth — that  materially  assisted 
Duffy  to  make  up  his  mind  as  to  which  of  the  two 
desires  he  should  follow. 

Mr.  Farrow  was  the  chief  of  Duffy's  department, 
and  he  held  a  sway  that  was  very  little  disputed 
over  some  five  or  six  small  papers  of  which  Duffy's 
concern,  "Adventure  Novels,"  was  one. 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  43 

At  eleven  o'clock,  then,  Mr.  Farrow — a  genial  and 
extremely  boyish  man  of  some  forty-six  years — came 
into  Duffy's  room  with  a  bundle  of  manuscript  and 
a  bright  smile. 

"Good  stuff,  this,  Duff,  good  stuff,"  he  said  and 
put  it  on  the  desk.  "Use  it  for  the  first  number 
next  month." 

"Right,"  said  Duffy.    "I  thought  you'd  like  it." 

"And  by-the-way,"  Mr.  Farrow  went  on.  "Are 
you  very  busy  this  morning?" 

"Not  very." 

"Well,  I  think  you'd  better  go  up  to  Russell 
Square  and  see  James  about  those  covers.  If  we 
don't  wake  him  up  we  shall  never  see  them  at  ail- 
not  that  they  will  be  very  wonderful  if  we  do," 
said  Mr.  Farrow  bitterly.  He  hated  his  artists— 
frankly  and  all  the  time.  He  nodded  and  left  the 
room. 

And  that  is  how  Duffy  started  off  for  Russell 
Square. 

Before  he  left  Dalkeith  House  he  telephoned  to 
Binks  and  told  him  he  was  going  out;  also  he 
warned  him  that  MacArthur  would  want  to  know 
whether  he  was  to  go  to  Scotland  or  not.  Binks 
promised  to  deal  with  the  difficult  matter  in  the 
proper  spirit.  With  an  easy  mind,  or  at  least  a 


44          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

mind  untroubled  by  anything  but  its  original  prob- 
lem, Duffy  set  forth  into  Fleet  Street  on  his  way  to 
Russell  Square  and  the  studio  of  Mr.  James.  He 
decided  that  he  would  walk,  since  the  day  was  fine 
and  the  streets  as  yet  uncrowded.  Before  cutting 
through  to  Holborn  by  Fetter  Lane,  he  stopped  at  a 
tobacconist's  and  bought  a  fivepenny  cigar.  He  also 
lit  it.  Then  he  proceeded — I  will  not  say  he  swag- 
gered— on  his  way. 

In  the  window  of  Carnage's  he  was  arrested  by 
the  sudden  sight  of  a  row  of  rifles  of  varying  pattern 
and  caliber.  They  started  a  train  of  thought  that 
whiled  his  way  to  Southampton  Row:  he  dispatched 
the  last  mutineer  as  he  turned  up  it. 

I  am  making  a  point  of  Duffy's  day-dreaming 
because  I  believe  that  if  he  had  not  been  so  de- 
liciously  engaged  he  might  not  have  acted  as  he  did. 

A  man  who  is  at  all  deeply  preoccupied  is  some- 
times in  a  state  that  borders  very  near  that  of 
hypnosis,  for  he  is  more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  any 
suggestion  of  sufficient  force  that  may  be  impinged 
on  his  mind — which  in  that  state  is  almost  entirely 
subconscious. 

Thus  it  was  that  Duffy  obeyed  without  question 
the  suggestion  of  a  small,  dapper,  and  entirely  re- 
spectable man  with  a  little  tufty  beard  who  came 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  45 

hurrying  round  the  corner  of  Russell  Square  and 
almost  knocked  Duffy  down  with  an  attache  case 
that  he  was  carrying. 

"Sorry!"  the  man  gasped  out.  "They're  after 
me!" 

"Who?"  inquired  Duffy  politely. 

"The  devils,  the  devils!  Stop  'em,  stop  'em!" 
and  the  man  waved  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the 
Square,  jumped  off  the  curb,  and  ran  swiftly  across 
the  road. 

Duffy  looked  at  the  retreating  figure  with  con- 
siderable interest  and  then  turned  to  the  corner. 
Obediently  he  was  going  to  stop  'em.  He  never 
bothered  himself  to  wonder  who  or  why  or  what 
or  anything  else.  In  his  still  half-dreaming  state 
he  was  just  going  to  stop  'em. 

He  took  up  a  strategic  position  against  the  wall 
at  the  corner,  and  waited.  He  assumed,  and  rightly, 
that  whoever  "they"  were,  they  would  come  round 
the  same  corner  as  the  pursued  man,  whose  retreat- 
ing figure  had  just  vanished  down  one  of  the  side 
streets. 

At  this  point  Duffy's  conscious  mind  resumed  its 
usual  control  of  things,  but  it  did  so  a  fraction  of  a 
second  too  late  to  prevent  his  sub-eonscious  mind 
from  completely  altering  the  whole  course  of  his 


46         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

day;  indeed,  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  daring,  the 
daring  that  only  a  true  adventurer  could  have  shown, 
he  might  never  have  interviewed  Mr.  James  about 
the  covers  for  "Dalkeith  Adventure  Novels." 

Duffy  heard,  with  the  aid  of  his  returning  acute- 
ness  of  hearing,  heavy,  relentless  footsteps  approach- 
ing along  the  pavement  round  the  corner,  and  he 
flattened  himself  against  the  wall  in  readiness.  The 
man  was  coming  swiftly  for  all  his  heaviness.  He 
rounded  the  corner;  a  big  towering  figure,  coming 
at  full  tilt,  snorting  with  determination. 

As  I  have  pointed  out  before,  Duffy  was  still  a 
little  dreamy,  but  although  he  was  sufficiently  awake 
to  put  out  a  quick  foot  that  entangled  itself  among 
the  lower  limbs  of  the  big  figure  and  effectually 
brought  it  sprawling  to  the  ground;  he  was  still 
sufficiently  dreamy  not  to  notice  that  the  big  figure 
was  that  of  a  policeman — it  was  necessary  to  his 
dulled  perception  that  he  should  see  the  wallowing 
result  of  his  action  before  the  full  realization  of 
what  had  happened  smote  upon  his  now  completely 
awakened  consciousness. 

But  we  will  give  him  credit  for  the  extreme  speed 
with  which  his  mind  worked,  now  that  it  was  awake; 
he  saw  the  policeman,  he  heard  his  howl  of  surprise, 
he  realized  that  he  had  somewhat  violently  aided 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  47 

and  abetted  an  escaping  felon,  that  the  authorities 
would  find  no  sympathy  for  his  action  if  they  caught 
him,  and  that  the  wisest  possible  course  he  could 
adopt  under  the  circumstances  was  instant  flight.. 
He  adopted  it. 

By  the  time  the  big  policeman  had  found  the 
feet  that  had  been  so  suddenly  and  painfully  re- 
moved from  beneath  him,  Duffy  was  thirty  yards 
down  the  street  and  going  like  the  wind.  The 
policeman  gathered  a  certain  amount  of  air  in  his 
lungs  and  followed,  though  hardly  like  the  wind. 
But  he  did  his  best;  a  good  best  since  four  adult 
pedestrians,  a  boy  with  a  basket,  and  two  dogs  joined 
him — their  assistance  called  for  his  best. 

But  it  was  not  a  good  enough  best,  for  Duffy 
was  able  to  round  the  next  corner  and  then  the  next 
before  the  policeman  and  the  pedestrian  abreast  of 
him  reached  the  first.  Consequently  he  was  able, 
four  minutes  later,  to  walk  serenely  and  unpursued 
into  Russell  Square  and  across  it  to  the  studio  of 
Mr.  James. 

He  was  still  breathing  a  little  heavily  as  a  result 
of  his  brush  with  the  law  of  his  country  while  he 
talked  to  Mr.  James  about  covers.  The  artist  looked 
at  him  carefully  once  or  twice,  but  he  made  no  com- 
ment— Duffy  was  far  too  wise  to  confide  in  a  man 


48          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

like  James.  James  would  tell  everybody  in  the 
household,  which  would  of  course  include  the  cook 
— and  the  cook — well,  it  would  have  been  as  well  if 
Duffy  had  left  his  card  on  the  pavement  when  he  put 
out  his  foot  and  tripped  up  the  policeman.  There- 
fore he  held  his  peace. 

After  concluding  the  matter  of  covers,  Duffy  took 
his  leave,  conscious  as  he  did  so  that  Russell  Square 
might  not  be  as  healthy  a  spot  for  him  as  could  be 
desired.  From  the  fact  that  the  policeman  had  come 
round  the  corner  of  it,  he  assumed  that  to  that 
Square  the  policeman  belonged,  and  that  he  might 
very  well  have  got  back  into  it  after  his  fruitless 
chase.  But  Duffy  scorned  to  ask  Mr.  James  if  he 
possessed  a  back  entrance  to  his  studio,  and  he 
walked  out  into  the  Square  again  with  a  brave  tread 
that  hid  the  anxiety  of  his  heart. 

There  was  no  sign  of  the  policeman,  and  Duffy 
crossed  the  Square  with  an  easier  mind;  also  the 
thought  came  to  him  that  it  was  not  very  likely 
that  the  minion  of  the  law  would  recognize  him  if 
he  saw  him.  He  would  need  to  be  a  very  observant 
minion. 

And  for  the  next  few  minutes,  Duffy's  thoughts 
reverted  to  Mr.  Northcote  and  the  problem  that 
confronted  him.  This  time  he  almost  decided  that 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  49 

he  would  be  politic  if  nothing  else,  and  that  he 
would  steel  himself  to  the  difficult  task  of  waiting 
until  Saturday,  or  perhaps  Friday.  Then  he  would 
go  and  learn  what  there  was  to  learn. 

But  these  decisions  amounted  to  very  little,  for 
here  he  saw  the  policeman,  or  to  be  exact  the  police- 
man saw  him  and  furthermore  recognized  him;  a 
fact  that  was  borne  in  upon  Duffy  by  a  piercing 
whistle  behind  him.  He  cast  a  quick  glance  over 
his  shoulder,  saw  the  descending  hand  of  vengeance 
and  once  again  adopted  the  wisest  course  of  action 
by  taking  to  his  heels. 

He  ran  hard  and  he  ran  well,  and  he  set  down  to 
the  serious  occupation  of  putting  as  much  distance 
as  possible  between  his  pursuer  and  himself. 

The  policeman  must  have  wasted  a  lot  of  valuable 
breath  in  his  shouts  of: 

"Stop  thief!    Stop  thief!" 

Anyhow,  Duffy  deemed  it  a  waste  of  breath,  but 
the  words  gave  him  an  idea — he  lifted  his  hand 
occasionally  as  he  ran  and  pointed  ahead  of  him. 
It  rather  created  the  impression  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  who  seemed  to  be  growing  thicker  and  thicker 
every  moment,  that  the  quarry  was  somewhere  in 
front  of  Duffy;  they  admired  the  determined  manner 
in  which  he  ran.  By  the  time  the  more  intelligent 


50         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

of  them  saw  through  the  ruse,  he  had  passed  them. 

Some  of  them  joined  in  the  chase,  and  by  the  time 
Duffy  had  crossed  the  Square  and  entered  Southamp- 
ton Row,  the  crowd  that  shouted  in  the  rear  must 
have  acquired  considerable  dimensions. 

He  shot  across  the  road  like  a  hare,  escaped  a 
car  by  the  merest  fraction  of  an  inch,  reached  the 
opposite  pavement,  and  flashed  down  the  short  alley- 
way that  leads  into  Queen's  Square.  As  he  came 
into  it  and  turned  sharp  to  the  right,  the  exhilaration 
of  the  chase  seized  him.  That  he  should  be  the  ob- 
ject of  it  did  not  worry  him  particularly;  it  was 
sufficient  that  there  should  be  chase  and  that  he 
should  have  a  part  in  it. 

The  street  into  which  he  had  turned  was  narrow, 
empty,  and  cobblestoned,  and  it  led  back  into  South- 
ampton Row,  coming  out  into  it  by  the  fire  station. 
Duffy  clattered  down  it  singing. 

I  do  not  know  what  song  he  sang — I  do  not  think 
it  matters;  but  it  was  a  slow  song  and  in  admirable 
contrast  to  the  speed  at  which  he  was  moving.  Also 
it  was  a  triumphant  song.  As  he  reached  the  end  of 
the  street  he  looked  back  and  saw  a  mob  of  people 
pouring  into  the  other  end.  The  entrance  was  black 
with  people — and  they  all  shouted  different  things  at 
him,  the  sound  reaching  him  like  the  angry  murmur 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  51 

of  a  swarm  of  bees  that  have  been  disturbed  on  a 
quiet  morning — angry  and  menacing  and  dangerous. 

For  a  few  precious  seconds  Duffy  stopped,  turned, 
and  faced  them,  then  in  full  sight  of  them  put  his 
hand  round  to  his  hip  pocket  and  pretended  to  pull 
a  pistol  from  it  and  pointed  a  finger  at  them. 

Something  seemed  to  move  over  the  crowd — a 
sort  of  ripple  as  they  stumbled  in  their  run — and 
many  of  the  foremost  flung  themselves  on  their 
faces  so  that  those  behind  swayed  and  deviated  to 
avoid  them.  Duffy's  action  justified  the  waste  of  the 
seconds  it  occupied,  for  when  he  turned  and  broke 
into  a  run  again,  the  crowd  had  straggled  and  broken 
its  mass  formation. 

When  Duffy  clambered  onto  a  bus  at  the  corner, 
only  four  of  the  pursuers  saw  him  and  only  one 
boarded  the  same  bus.  The  remaining  tiiree  got 
on  the  one  behind. 

Duffy  clambered  up  the  stairs  and  was  on  the 
top  before  the  foremost,  a  youth  of  about  seventeen, 
reached  the  step.  Duffy  sat  on  a  back  seat  and 
waited  for  the  boy  to  come  up;  he  saw  the  remain- 
ing three  scrambling  for  the  bus  behind.  The  main 
body  of  pursuers  had  by  this  time  overflowed  into 
the  busier  streets  and  he  saw  groups  of  bewildered 
and  perspiring  people  standing  in  knots,  discussing 


52          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

the  matter  or  running  up  and  down  aimlessly  and 
asking  each  other  questions.  The  general  onlookers, 
who  could  not  understand  what  it  was  all  about, 
seemed  a  little  perplexed. 

Then  Duffy  heard  the  youth  on  the  stairway, 
slipped  off  his  glasses,  and  looked  straight  in  front 
of  him.  Out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye  he  saw  a 
stupid,  heavy-faced  boy  standing  against  the  back 
and  examining  the  passengers  with  a  suspicious,  wor- 
ried expression.  He  hardly  looked  at  Duffy. 

For  a  moment  he  stood  there  and  cudgeled  his 
brains;  he  was  obviously  in  considerable  doubt  about 
what  he  was  to  do  next.  Then  he  ran  down  and 
looked  inside;  Duffy  followed  him,  brushed  against 
him,  and  stepped  neatly  off  the  bus,  thanking  heaven 
that  Providence  had  provided  the  world  with  so 
many  stupid  people. 

"And  that  is  that!"  remarked  Duffy  to  himself 
as  he  stood  on  the  curb  by  Holborn  station  and 
watched  three  anxious-looking  men  who  were  stand- 
ing on  the  top  of  the  next  bus,  craning  their  necks  to 
see  what  was  happening  on  board  the  one  he  had 
just  left.  They  were  still  standing  in  the  same  posi- 
tion as  the  bus  rounded  the  corner  at  the  bottom 
of  Kingsway. 

"I  think,"  said  Duffy,  "that  a  cup  of  coffee " 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  53 

and  he  walked  into  Lipton's,  seated  himself  thank- 
fully at  a  table,  and  gave  the  order. 

While  the  waitress  was  away  he  took  out  his 
glasses  and  polished  them  carefully  before  he  put 
them  on  his  nose.  Then  his  thoughts  returned  to 
the  problem. 

For  quite  a  time  he  sat  and  stirred  his  coffee, 
frowning  thoughtfully,  and  the  desire  for  adventure 
and  the  desire  to  be  politic  fought  out  their  battle 
up  and  down  the  field  of  his  mind.  This  time  there 
was  no  lessening  or  dwindling  in  the  desire  to  be 
politic;  rather  was  there  an  immense  increase  in 
force  of  the  desire  for  adventure.  So  strong  indeed 
did  it  become  that  it  swamped  all  else;  it  routed 
its  enemy  the  politic  and  in  triumph  stalked  up 
and  down  the  field  of  Duffy's  mind. 

Damn  policy!  He  was  going  to  get  his  adven- 
ture; its  taste  was  sweet  in  his  mouth,  and  he  real- 
ized at  that  moment  that  whatever  else  happened 
he  must  have  adventure! 

Then  swift  on  the  heels  of  that  realization  came 
memory,  the  memory  of  Vont  Gathers,  detective, 
hero  and  central  figure  of  the  crime  series  of  "Dal- 
keith  Adventure  Novels."  Duffy  remembered  that 
Vont  Gathers  was  never  tired  of  telling  the  world: 
"Delay  is  destruction;  decide  and  act!" 


54          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Duffy  decided  and  acted. 

With  swift  strides  he  crossed  to  the  cashier's  desk, 
paid  for  his  coffee,  and  then  hurried  round  into  Hoi- 
born  station.  There  he  occupied  a  telephone  box 
for  a  short  three  minutes,  in  which  he  intimated  to 
Mr.  Farrow  that  a  matter  of  appalling  urgency  had 
occurred  that  necessitated  his  immediate  and  undi- 
vided attention.  Yes;  he  had  seen  James  and  the 
covers  were  put  in  hand.  Then  he  spoke  to  Binks 
and  told  him  he  might  not  be  back  in  time  for  lunch. 
No;  he  would  not  go  to  Pineffi's. 

Duffy  left  the  telephone  with  a  heart  that  beat 
strong  with  anticipation.  How  could  he  have  dallied 
with  decision  so  long! 

He  bought  another  fivepenny  cigar  and  ultimately 
and  with  fine  extravagance,  hailed  a  taxi;  gave  the 
driver  the  address  in  St.  John's  Wood  and  in  true 
accordance  with  the  methods  of  the  best  adventurers, 
shouted  before  he  got  into  the  cab: 

"Double  your  fare  if  you  get  me  there  in  fifteen 
minutes!" 

The  driver  touched  his  cap  and  ground  in  the 
clutch. 

The  taxi  may  have  possessed  two  cylinders,  it 
might  even  have  had  four;  it  scorned,  however, 
to  use  more  than  one  in  its  effort  to  reach  St.  John's 


HE  SNARLED  LIKE  A  DOG  55 

Wood,  but  within  a  short  twenty  minutes  Duffy 
found  himself,  after  a  journey  of  hours,  standing 
on  the  pavement  in  front  of  a  large,  roomy-looking 
house,  standing  by  itself  in  a  garden  of  a  size  ex-- 
ceptional  in  a  neighborhood  so  full  of  houses. 

Duffy  gazed  up  at  the  windows,  and  after  a  mo- 
ment's thought,  walked  slowly  up  and  down  in  front 
of  the  house.  He  examined  it  with  the  trained  eye 
of  a  sleuth. 

Everything  seemed  in  order.  Duffy  could  find 
no  grounds  for  suspicion  that  there  was  anything 
extraordinary  about  it.  In  fact  he  had  to  admit 
to  himself  that  it  was  a  perfectly  ordinary  house. 
He  felt  a  tinge  of  disappointment  which  disappeared 
a  moment  later,  however,  at  the  thought  that  the 
least  suspicious  in  this  world  is  usually  the  most 
to  be  guarded  against. 

The  truth  of  this  struck  him  even  more  forcibly 
as  he  came  level  with  the  front  gate. 

He  was  looking  up  the  short  path  at  the  front 
door,  a  large  pretentious  affair  in  black  oak,  when 
it  opened  sufficiently  to  allow  for  the  passage  of  a 
man  through  it.  To  Duffy  the  man  seemed  to 
come  through  it  with  uncommon  spewed,  a  speed 
which  landed  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  short  flight 
of  steps  with  an  alarming  crash. 


56          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

A  hat,  a  stick,  and  a  suit-case  followed  him.  The 
door  slammed. 

Duffy  instinctively  slipped  his  hand  round  to  his 
hip  pocket.  The  involuntary  action  pleased  him 
immensely. 

Then  the  late  inhabitant  of  the  house  picked  him- 
self up,  rubbed  himself,  and  after  gathering  up  the 
hat,  the  stick,  and  the  suit-case,  limped  painfully 
down  the  path. 

He  looked  very  hard  at  Duffy  when  he  reached 
the  gate  and  snarled  at  him  like  a  dog. 

Then  he  limped  down  the  road.  At  the  end 
of  forty  yards  he  stopped,  rubbed  himself  again, 
and  placed  the  hat  on  his  head. 

Duffy  watched  him  out  of  sight,  turned  and  looked 
at  the  black  oak  door. 

Then  he  walked  slowly  up  the  path  to  it. 


FOR  a  moment  Duffy  hesitated.  It  was  a  formid- 
able door  when  one  got  right  beneath  it.  Then 
he  remembered  that  he  was  a  hardened  adventurer, 
and  knocked  twice  with  a  firmness  that  demanded 
instant  recognition. 

The  door  opened  with  extreme  suddenness,  and 
Duffy  beheld  a  butler;  red- faced,  bewhiskered  and 
of  enormous  stature.  One  of  the  sleeves  of  his 
bulging  morning  coat  was  rolled  up,  displaying  the 
forearm  of  an  expert.  He  was  breathing  a  little 
heavily. 

Duffy  shifted  his  horn-rimmed  spectacles  until 
they  were  firmly  on  his  nose  and  said  in  a  loud,  clear 
voice: 

"I  want  to  see  Mr.  Carfew  Northcote." 

"You  have  an  appointment?"  asked  the  butler 
with  none  of  the  suavity  Duffy  knew  a  well-ordered 
butler  should  display. 

"Mr.  Northcote  gave  me  his  card,"  Duffy  pro- 
duced it,  "and  asked  me  to  call."  He  still  retained 

57 


58         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

a  loud,  clear  voice,  but  with  a  little  difficulty.  The 
butler  was  something  in  the  nature  of  a  watch-dog; 
he  bristled,  and  reached  out  an  enormous  hand  for 
the  card. 

"What  name  shall  I  tell  him— if  he's  in?"  He 
looked  at  the  card  suspiciously. 

"Duff— Peter  Duff,"  said  Duffy. 

"All  right,"  said  the  watch-dog,  and  flinging  aside 
all  effort  to  play  the  butler,  closed  the  door  in  Duffy's 
face. 

Duffy  immediately  seized  the  knocker  and  used 
it  twice  with  furious  vigor.  The  butler  was  indeed 
no  butler. 

The  door  opened  again,  and  Duffy  was  in  the  hall 
before  the  watch-dog  realized  he  had  been  passed. 

Duffy  got  well  down  the  wide  hall  before  he 
turned.  Then  he  said: 

"You  will  take  my  name  to  Mr.  Northcote,  and 
I  will  wait  here.  I  don't  think  you  know  who  I  am, 
but  in  case  you  did  not  hear  my  name,  I  am  PETER 
DUFF,"  he  said  loudly,  and  he  scowled  at  the  watch- 
dog. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  butler.  He  used  the  word 
"sir"  with  obvious  reluctance.  He  still  looked  sus- 
picious, but  a  little  less  determined. 

Duffy  seated  himself  on  a  settee,  placed  his  hat 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER  59 

and  stick  on  a  chair,  and  watched  the  butler's  width 
of  back  disappearing  up  the  broad  stairs.  He  still 
scowled,  but  it  was  more  to  conceal  his  triumph  than 
anything  else.  He  had  behaved  with  extreme  credit 
to  his  new  profession.  A  hardened  adventurer  left 
on  the  door-step ! 

The  hall  in  which  Duffy  sat  was  adorned  with  a 
display  of  arms  and  weapons  that  warmed  his  heart 
towards  the  little  collector.  Even  if  he  was  small 
and  wore  a  timid  expression,  Mr.  Car  few  Northcote 
must  have  the  martial  spirit. 

Duffy  rose  and  walked  over  to  the  opposite  wall 
and  took  from  it  a  dagger;  something  in  the  shape 
of  the  ivory  sheath  attracted  him.  He  drew  the 
blade,  long  but  not  too  long,  and  just  the  right 
width.  He  held  it  in  front  of  him  and  watched 
the  sunlight  that  came  through  the  window  flicker 
on  its  flawless  steel.  A  man  could  go  anywhere 
with  a  friend  like  this.  He  made  quick  little  flour- 
ishes with  it,  and  was  driving  a  terror-stricken  foe 
into  the  corner  when  he  was  interrupted  by  the 
butler. 

"Mr.  Northcote  will  see  you  if  you  will  step  this 
way,  Mr.  Duff,"  he  said  in  a  tone  that  was  not  over- 
polite,  but  probably  as  polite  as  he  had  ever  used. 

"Thanks!"  said  Duffy  briskly  and  returned  the 


60          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

ivory-sheathed  dagger  to  its  hook  with  not  a  little 
reluctance. 

He  followed  the  butler  up  the  stairs  and  into  a 
room  such  as  he  had  never  seen  before.  The  butler 
closed  the  door  and  left  him  standing  on  the 
threshold,  gazing  about  him  with  amazed  eyes. 

The  room  was  papered  with  a  dull,  golden  orange 
paper  that  gave  one  the  impression  of  perpetual 
sunlight;  the  hangings  and  carpet  were  blue,  the 
blue  of  an  Italian  lake.  After  the  interior  decorat- 
ing of  "Thornby,"  this  magnificence  and  harmony 
of  color  made  Duffy  gasp. 

When  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  thick  carpet 
he  realized  that  there  was  but  the  minimum  of 
furniture  in  the  room  and  that  the  walls  were  re- 
freshingly bare  of  pictures.  Then  he  saw  the  reason. 

On  the  mantelshelf  was  a  piece  of  jade,  pale 
green  jade,  mounted  on  an  elaborate  stand  of  black 
wood.  It  was  a  tall  bowl  of  exceeding  simplicity, 
perhaps  fourteen  inches  high,  drawn  in  lines  as  per- 
fect as  one  could  conceive,  lines  such  as  the  Greeks 
had  never  found.  It  came,  as  only  it  could  come, 
from  a  world-old  civilization,  where  esthetic  ex- 
pression had  reached  an  amazing  perfection. 

It  was  Chinese.  That  Duffy  recognized,  and  even 
if  he  could  not  analyze  the  bowl's  beauty,  it  gave  him 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER  61 

immense  satisfaction  to  look  at  it.  Furthermore  he 
had  seen  it  before — there  was  a  full-plate  illustration 
of  it  in  his  book  on  jade.  With  his  exact  mind  he 
had  learned  its  name  and  its  artist. 

Duffy  stood  and  looked;  he  almost  lost  himself 
in  contemplation  of  an  object  that  intrigued  him 
in  a  way  that  nothing  else  had  ever  done.  It  fas- 
cinated him  in  a  subtle,  disturbing  manner,  giving 
him  very  much  the  same  feeling  that  a  large  empty 
church  sometimes  gave  him  if  he  by  any  chance  got 
into  one.  The  jade  bowl  had  an  atmosphere,  a  de- 
cided atmosphere. 

Then  Duffy  was  startled  by  a  voice  at  his  side: 

"A  very,  very  wonderful  thing.  I  see  you  think 
so,  too." 

It  was  the  little  collector. 

"Yes,"  said  Duffy.  "By  Pi  T'ung,  isn't  it?  I 
thought  it  was  in  the  Field  collection." 

"There  is  one  very  like  it  in  the  Field  collection," 
admitted  the  little  man.  "But  this  is  better,  decid- 
edly better." 

His  collector's  enthusiasm  radiated  from  him. 

"You  seem  to  know  more  about  jade  than  you 
did  yesterday,  my  young  friend,"  he  said. 

"I  bought  'Chinese  Jade,' "  Duffy  told  him.  "I 
mugged  it  up  last  night.  I  like  it." 


62         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Good!"  said  the  little  man.  "You  may  find  it 
useful." 

Duffy  inwardly  congratulated  himself.  "Chinese 
Jade"  might  well  prove  to  have  been  worth  the 
purchasing.  The  little  man  was  looking  at  him  with 
pleased  eyes. 

"That's  the  sort  of  boy  I  like,"  he  said.  "Well, 
if  you  will  come  into  the  study,  we  will  get  to  busi- 
ness." 

Duffy  let  the  accusation  of  youth  pass  unheeded. 
He  was  about  to  learn  what  it  was  all  about.  He 
followed  the  little  man  across  the  corridor  into  a 
smaller  room;  there  was  more  jade  in  it,  but  it  was 
in  smaller  pieces  and  less  distinguished  than  the  bowl 
in  the  orange  room. 

The  collector  offered  Duffy  an  easy  chair  and 
placed  a  box  of  excellent  cigarettes  by  his  side; 
Duffy  sank  into  the  chair  and  lit  a  cigarette.  He 
was  on  the  point  of  inquiring  into  the  mysterious, 
if  hurried,  departure  of  the  young  man  who  snarled 
like  a  dog,  and  the  reason  why  Mr.  Northcote  kept 
such  a  large  butler,  but  he  thought  better  of  it.  A 
hardened  adventurer  does  not  show  surprise  at  such 
ordinary  everyday  things.  No  doubt  the  little  man 
would  enlighten  him  at  the  proper  time.  Duffy  set- 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER          63 

tied  himself  comfortably  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  a  jade 
figure  by  the  window. 

The  birds  were  singing  lustily  from  the  garden 
in  the  June  sunshine;  everything  was  very  satisfac- 
tory. For  a  moment  Duffy's  mind  dwelt  on  Made- 
leine; would  she  believe  him  if  she  could  see  him 
now?  And  Binks  and  Mac  Arthur,  seated  in  their 
offices  in  Dalkeith  House;  they  were  only  half -alive. 
Never  in  their  wildest  dreams  had  they  experienced 
half  what  he  had  been  through  this  morning. 

Duffy  was  thanking  Heaven  from  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  that  he  was  an  adventurer,  when  the  little 
man  broke  into  his  musings. 

"Now,  Peter  Duff,  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  story 
and  I  want  you  to  listen  very  carefully,  for  if  I  have 
my  way  in  the  matter,  I  want  you  to  finish  it  for 
me.  I  think  you  will,  I  think  you  can;  you  are  a 
boy  after  my  own  heart."  The  little  man  was  silent 
for  a  moment,  he  swung  round  in  his  chair  and 
gazed  out  of  the  window. 

"Go  ahead,"  said  Duffy. 

"Well,  this  story  commences  with  a  Prussian, 
called  Von  Splatz,"  he  began.  "And  Von  Splatz 
was  one  of  the  officials  in  the  Court  of  the  Manchus 
at  Peking  in  the  days  before  the  Boxer  Rising. 


64          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

He  was  a  trusted  member  of  the  Manchu  household 
and  did  pretty  well  out  of  it  because  he  was  a  rascal 
and  did  not  mind  serving  Chinese  masters  for  what 
he  could  get  out  of  them. 

"At  the  time  of  the  Rising,  Von  Splatz  was  the 
keeper,  among  other  things,  of  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus,  which  consisted  of  some  of  the  most  won- 
derful jade  that  Chinese  art  had  ever  produced. 
When  the  European  forces  marched  on  Peking  and 
there  seemed  every  chance  that  they  would  burn  it 
without  any  difficulty,  Von  Splatz  was  entrusted  with 
the  difficult  task  of  transporting  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus  to  a  place  of  safety.  In  the  panic  of  the 
moment,  nobody  seems  to  have  thought  of  the  stu- 
pidity of  letting  Von  Splatz  have  anything  to  do 
with  it  at  all. 

"As  far  as  we  know  the  party  that  carried  the 
Treasure  consisted  of  about  twenty  Chinese  coolies 
superintended  by  Von  Splatz  and  two  of  his  friends, 
also  Prussians.  The  proposed  hiding  place  was 
vaguely  described  to  one  of  the  Manchu  Princes  by 
Von  Splatz  as  one  of  the  numerous  islands  in  the 
group  which  lies  scattered,  as  I  expect  you  know, 
for  some  hundreds  of  miles  just  off  the  mainland. 

"Von  Splatz  and  his  party  left  Peking  the  night 
before  the  avenging  forces  descended  on  the  city, 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER          65 

carrying  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus.  And  as  far 
as  the  Manchus  are  concerned  that  was  the  last 
ever  seen  or  heard  of  Von  Splatz  and  the  Treasure, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  two  other  Prussians  and  the 
twenty  coolies.  The  whole  caravan  might  never 
have  existed  for  all  the  knowledge  the  Manchu 
Princes  had  of  it  thereafter.  They  only  knew  their 
Treasure  had  disappeared  and  they  were  very 
angry.  They  have  excavated  nearly  every  one  of 
those  islands  since  then,  but  they  have  found  no 
jade. 

"This  is  what  happened.  Von  Splatz,  with  the 
help  of  his  two  friends,  managed  to  escape  the  Euro- 
pean troops,  worked  his  way  by  slow  degrees  to  the 
coast,  commandeered  a  small  junk,  loaded  the  Treas- 
ure chests  on  board  and  sailed  for  a  small  and  un- 
inhabited island  some  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
coast.  Here  Von  Splatz  made  the  coolies  bury  the 
Treasure,  marked  the  spot,  took  exact  measurements, 
and  proceeded,  with  the  aid  of  his  two  friends,  to 
shoot  the  twenty  coolies  and  throw  them  in  the  sea. 
Having  accomplished  this  feat,  the  precious  three 
sailed  back  to  the  mainland.  Within  cable  length 
of  the  cliffs  Von  Splatz  calmly  shot  his  two  friends, 
locked  the  cabin  door  on  their  bodies,  scuttled  the 
junk  in  twelve  fathoms  of  water,  and  swam  ashore. 


66          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"As  the  story  goes  Von  Splatz  joined  the  Prussian 
contingent  of  the  avengers,  enjoyed  himself  thor- 
oughly with  that  black-hearted  mob  at  the  sack  of 
Peking  and  afterwards  returned  with  them  to  their 
native  land." 

The  little  man  paused  a  moment. 

"Do  you  follow  it  so  far?" 

"Yep "  said  Duffy  to  whom  a  golden  world 

had  gradually  unfolded.  "And  then  .  .  .  ?"  he 
asked,  trying  to  keep  the  eagerness  out  of  his  voice. 
The  little  man  continued : 

"Von  Splatz  spent  the  next  few  months  in  Berlin, 
spending  the  immediate  fruits  of  his  share  in  the 
sack  of  Peking.  He  paid  for  his  pleasure  with  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy  and  died,  but  not  before  he  had 
told  his  wife  the  full  story  and  given  her  the  direc- 
tions for  finding  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus. 

"Ultimately  she  came  to  me  about  six  months 
ago,  knowing  I  was  an  expert  in  jade,  and  offered 
to  sell  me  the  directions.  Much  to  her  surprise  I 
bought  them;  at  first  she  had  tried  to  find  enough 
money  to  outfit  an  expedition  herself,  and  failing, 
endeavored  to  interest  two  firms  of  oriental  art  deal- 
ers in  Germany  and  one  in  France,  but  they  all 
laughed  at  her.  At  least  one  of  the  German  firms 
thought  there  might  be  something  in  it,  but  their 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER          67 

hard-headed  shrewdness  did  not  admit  speculation. 
They  contented  themselves  with  sending  one  of  their 
staff  over  to  find  out  all  about  it  when  they  learned  I 
had  bought  the  directions.  Whoever  he  is  he  must 
be  a  particularly  conscientious  man  because  he  has 
attempted  to  burgle  this  house  six  times  in  the  last 
four  months." 

"Ah!"  interrupted  Duffy,  "I  see— the  watch- 
dog!" 

"The  watch-dog?"  The  little  man  looked  puz- 
zled. 

"I  mean  the  butler,"  Duffy  explained. 

"Oh,  yes.  Curley  Carson.  Invaluable  man,  in- 
valuable man." 

"So  I  should  think,"  said  Duffy.  "I  watched 
him  dealing  with  a  gentleman  in  a  very  professional 
manner,  as  I  came  in." 

"Ah,  yes.  I  was  just  coming  to  him.  That  was 
another  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Prussian  firm.  That 
young  man  came  to  me  with  excellent  references 
and  desired  to  become  my  unpaid  Secretary  in  order 
to  learn  all  about  jade.  Yesterday  I  caught  him  go- 
ing through  the  private  drawers  of  my  bureau.  He 
did  not  see  me  until  I  was  well  in  the  room;  when 
he  did,  he  dropped  a  bundle  of  pamphlets  and  swore 
vilely.  I  discharged  him  at  once,  but  this  morning 


68          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

he  came  in  in  the  middle  of  my  work  and  tried  to 
explain.    I  told  Curley  to  throw  him  out." 

Duffy  admired  the  little  man  even  more.  Direct 
action  had  always  appealed  to  him. 

"Now,"  continued  the  collector,  "this  is  where 
you  come  into  the  story.  I  have  chartered  a  ship, 
or  perhaps  I  had  better  call  her  a  boat,  called  The 
Rose  of  Washington  Square/  which  is  owned  and 
captained  by  a  Captain  Fellowes.  'The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square'  is  sailing  in  a  week's  time  for 
the  China  Seas  to  recover  the  Treasure  of  the  Man- 
chus — and  you,  Peter  Duff — you  are  going  with 
her!" 

Peter  Duff  shut  his  eyes  and  gripped  the  arms 
of  his  chair  with  both  hands. 

"The  Rose  of  Washington  Square"  was  sailing 
in  a  week's  time  for  the  China  Seas  to  recover  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus  and  Duffy  was  going  with 
her! 

He  opened  his  eyes  and  looked  at  the  little  man 
as  he  would  at  a  god.  With  extreme  difficulty  he 
controlled  the  desire  to  seize  him  by  the  hands  and 
dance  him  round  the  room.  The  non-committal  air 
with  which  he  said: 

"It  sounds  very  attractive,  Mr.  Northcote,"  was 
a  masterpiece  of  acting. 


THE  FORKING  OF  THE  RIVER          69 

"Listen,"  the  little  man  was  saying,  "Captain 
Fellowes  is  a  swashbuckler;  there  is  no  doubt  of 
that,  and  I  have  decided  I  must  have  some  one  on 
board  his  ship  who  is  going  to  play  straight  with  me 
and  watch  him.  Some  one  who  is  not  afraid  of 
risking  a  little  and  who  has  experience  with  this 
sort  of  people.  Captain  Fellowes  I  have  seen  on 
three  occasions  only,  but  on  each  he  did  little  else 
but  assure  me  how  honest  he  is.  I  have  learned  in 
the  course  of  my  life  as  a  collector  of  oriental  art, 
never  to  trust  the  man  who  tells  me  he  is  honest. 
The  really  honest  man  is  never  conscious  of  his 
honesty.  Captain  Fellowes  is  known  as  'Honest 
Pig  Fellowes.'  He  may  be  all  he  claims  to  be — 
but  I'm  not  sure. 

"I  met  you  at  that  restaurant  yesterday;  I  heard 
your  conversation  with  your  amiable  friends,  you 
told  me  a  little  of  yourself,  and  I  am  satisfied 
I  could  not  find  a  better  man  to  go  with  'The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square.'  I  want  you  to  superintend 
the  whole  adventure,  for  adventure  I  can  promise 
you  it  will  be.  Captain  Fellowes  will  navigate  the 
boat,  see  to  everything  to  do  with  the  getting  to  the 
island,  and  supply  the  men  to  dig  for  the  Treasure. 

"You  will  direct  operations,  and  having  got  the 
Treasure  on  board  'The  Rose  of  Washington 


70          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Square/  will  guard  it  and  eventually  deliver  it  here, 
at  this  house.  I  am  going  to  leave  everything  to 
you;  in  fact  for  all  intents  and  purposes  you  will 
deputize  for  me;  I,  alas,  am  too  old  now  to  go 
flying  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  adventuring  after 
jade.  I  have  to  content  myself  with  collecting  it. 
But  you,  what  will  you  do?" 

The  little  collector  leaned  forward,  his  eager  eyes 
peering  at  Duffy,  who  sat  motionless,  his  fingers 
clasped.  Presently  he  rose  and  walked  to  the  win- 
dow, and  looked  at  the  sky  and  the  clouds  and  the 
trees;  a  fresh  breeze  fanned  his  cheeks. 

He  realized  he  had  come  to  the  great  moment  in 
his  life,  the  moment  when  his  next  words  would 
determine  the  course  the  stream  of  his  life  should 
follow.  It  was  the  forking  of  the  river. 

He  turned  and  walked  up  to  the  little  man. 

"What  will  I  do?"  said  Duffy.  "I  will  sail  on 
'The  Rose  of  Washington  Square.'  " 

Then  he  took  off  his  horn-rimmed  spectacles  and 
polished  them  industriously. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CUTTING  CORDS 

FROM  this  moment  began  a  week  of  unalloyed  bliss 
for  Duffy;  he  passed  through  it  with  all  the  ecstatic 
joy  of  a  youth  who  has  "made  the  dreams  come 
true." 

The  atmosphere  of  real  adventure  into  which 
he  had  fallen  with  such  unexpectedness  and  with 
such  unqualified  success,  held  him  in  its  thrall. 

Again  and  again  he  thanked  Heaven  from  the 
bottom  of  his  heart  that  he  was  an  adventurer. 

His  real  pleasure  started  when  he  reached  Dal- 
keith  House  after  his  interview  with  the  little  col- 
lector and  was  able  to  tell  them  all  that  he  was  about 
to  set  sail  for  the  China  Seas  in  quest  of  hidden 
jade;  and  the  fact  that  nobody  seriously  believed 
him  hardly  stirred  him.  He  tendered  his  resignation 
to  "Dalkeith  Adventurer  Novels"  with  a  tranquil 
heart.  He  would  no  longer  sub-edit  them;  he  would 
live  them. 

Binks  and  MacArthur  were  at  first  incredulous, 
which  was  natural,  but  when  Duffy  produced  a  letter 

71 


72          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

of  introduction  to  Captain  Fellowes  of  "The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square"  their  disbelief  weakened. 
Duffy  then  showed  them  Mr.  Northcote's  check  for 
eighty  pounds,  his  first  month's  salary  in  advance, 
with  which  to  purchase  the  necessary  outfit  for  an 
adventure  of  this  kind,  and  their  disbelief  changed 
into  an  awed  respect  for  his  appalling  cheek,  as  they 
termed  his  part  in  the  affair. 

They  made  no  effort  to  conceal  their  firm  con- 
viction that  the  little  man  was  mad  and  that  Duffy 
had  traded  on  that  madness  to  the  tune  of  a  thou- 
sand a  year  and  a  voyage  round  the  world. 

Duffy  merely  smiled  the  superior  smile  of  the 
man  who  knows  better  and  pardoned  their  idiotic 
blindness  to  the  true  state  of  things.  He  did  not 
attempt  to  persuade  them.  They  would  learn. 

Later  in  the  week,  however,  as  the  day  came  for 
his  departure  they  told  him  that  he  was  a  lucky  if 
undeserving  young  dog,  wished  him  all  success,  and 
promised  to  write  to  him  so  that  he  found  their  let- 
ters at  his  various  ports  of  call — if  any. 

When  Duffy  broke  the  news  to  his  Aunt  'Tilda 
she  flung  her  arms  to  the  ceiling  and  exclaimed  in 
accents  of  acute  agony: 

"Lord,  a'mercy,  what  has  the  boy  done  now?" 
and  gave  a  creditable  imitation  of  hysterics,  but 


CUTTING  CORDS  73 

Duffy  calmed  her  with  assurances  that  he  would 
run  his  head  into  no  unnecessary  danger  and  wear 
a  chest  protector  on  chilly  nights.  He  then  gave 
her  thirty  of  the  eighty  pounds  and  asked  her  to 
purchase  for  him  the  more  intimate  if  less  interesting 
articles  of  apparel  necessary  for  a  sojourn  in  tropical 
latitudes. 

He  very  firmly  impressed  upon  her  the  fact  that 
he  was  not  going  to  the  polar  seas.  He  abominated 
heavy  woolen  pants  and  all  his  life  he  had  dreaded 
his  aunt's  determination  that  he  should  wear  them. 
For  a  not  very  powerful-willed  woman  she  displayed 
an  amazing  force  in  her  efforts  so  to  clothe  him. 

The  pleasant  task  of  seeing  to  her  nephew's 
wardrobe  fully  occupied  Aunt  'Tilda's  time,  and  she 
had  the  day  of  her  life  among  the  harried  Colonial 
outfitters  of  London.  Her  natural  philosophy 
towards  Duffy  and  his  wilder  efforts  in  search  of 
the  exciting  life,  reasserted  itself.  The  natural  phi- 
losophy of  the  Colonial  outfitters  towards  the  Aunt 
Tildas  of  this  world  underwent  a  severe  strain  hi 
this  particular  case.  But  they  did  their  best. 

The  remaining  fifty  pounds  Duffy  expended  him- 
self on  the  more  interesting  but  still  necessary  arti- 
cles of  equipment  that  determine  the  hardened  ad- 
venturer from  the  rest  of  mankind. 


74          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

After  obtaining  a  license  he  went  to  Carnage's 
and  speedily  became  the  proud  possessor  of  a  pair 
of  automatic  pistols  in  a  shining  mahogany  case, 
along  with  two  holsters. 

The  bigger  of  the  pistols  had  a  long,  vicious-look- 
ing barrel,  which  the  salesman  explained  to  Duffy 
would  ensure  extreme  accuracy  in  the  expert  hand. 
He  told  Duffy  he  could  see  at  a  glance  that  he  was 
selling  it  to  an  expert. 

That  salesman  was  a  good  salesman. 

The  second  of  the  pair  was  smaller,  but  its  barrel 
was  none  the  less  vicious-looking.  It  was  short  and 
snub-nosed;  and  built  for  close-quarters  work,  it 
fitted  the  hip-pocket,  and  could  be  drawn  with  rapid- 
ity— by  an  expert. 

Here  again  the  salesman  proved  his  value.  He 
could  see  at  a  glance  that  Duffy  would  need  very 
little  practice  before  he  regained  his  former  speed 
in  that  performance. 

For  convenience'  sake  both  pistols  had  been  se- 
lected .32  bore,  so  that  the  same  ammunition  would 
fit  either. 

Duffy  bought  two  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition 
and  ordered  another  two  thousand  to  be  sent  to  him, 
c/o  "The  Rose  of  Washington  Square,"  lying  in  its 
dock  at  Tilbury. 


CUTTING  CORDS  75 

In  the  boot  department  Duffy  purchased  a  very 
fine  pair  of  suede  mosquito  boots  that  reached  the 
knee.  He  would  need  them  on  Taiho  Shan,  the 
island  of  the  Treasure.  Also  he  bought  two  pairs 
of  breeches  to  go  with  the  boots;  one  pair  khaki- 
colored,  the  other  white,  regretting  as  he  did  so  that 
there  was  not  sufficient  time  to  have  them  made 
to  measure.  The  breeches  of  a  hardened  adventurer 
always  fit  to  perfection.  But  the  ready-made  pairs 
did  not  look  so  bad,  he  decided. 

By  this  time  the  fifty  pounds  had  considerably 
dwindled,  but  Duffy  bought  a  prismatic  compass 
in  a  leather  case  that  hung  from  the  shoulder.  He 
would  need  it  for  taking  the  necessary  bearings 
when  it  came  to  locating  the  exact  spot  of  the 
buried  jade.  He  also  bought  two  large  metal-bound 
boxes  of  sufficient  size  and  stoutness  to  hold  his  out- 
fit. With  these  purchases  Duffy  found  it  necessary 
to  take  a  taxi  to  St.  Pancras  in  order  to  get  them 
to  the  Harpenden  train. 

In  it  he  suddenly  realized  that  "The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square"  would  carry  a  prismatic  com- 
pass if  she  were  properly  equipped,  but  he  consoled 
himself  with  the  thought  that  very  probably  it  would 
not  be  exact.  An  amateur  adventurer,  of  course, 
would  never  have  worried  about  a  little  detail  like 


76          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

that;  but  a  hardened  one  does  not  take  chances;  he 
knows  that  it  is  the  little  things,  like  the  exactness  of 
a  prismatic  compass,  that  count. 

One  thing,  in  the  midst  of  his  pleasure  was 
worrying  him,  and  that  was  the  fact  that  the  little 
collector  had  given  Honest  Pig  Fellowes  a  copy  of 
the  directions  for  finding  the  treasure.  Duffy  had 
a  copy,  but  he  wished  to  be  the  sole  possessor  of 
those  directions  on  board  "The  Rose  of  Washington 
Square."  Mr.  Northcote  had  made  him  morally  re- 
sponsible for  the  success  of  the  expedition  and 
Duffy  felt  that  that  moral  responsibility  would  be 
less  heavy  if  he  held  the  whip  hand.  If  at  any 
time  Honest  Pig  Fellowes  felt  constrained  to  dis- 
pense with  Peter  Duff  for  the  purposes  of  the  expedi- 
tion he  might  very  well  do  so.  Duffy's  value,  as  the 
holder  of  the  key  to  the  situation,  would  be  consid- 
erably higher. 

When  Duffy  reached  home  with  his  purchases 
his  aunt  had  not  yet  returned  from  her  fray  with 
the  Colonial  outfitters,  and  he  found  himself  at  lib- 
erty to  examine  the  automatics  without  causing  un- 
necessary alarm. 

They  were  of  beautiful  workmanship  and  of  the 
latest  design.  The  salesman  had  told  the  truth  when 


CUTTING  CORDS  77 

he  said  that  in  the  hands  of  an  expert  nobody  would 
get  very  near  that  expert  unless  he  so  desired. 

Duffy  decided  at  once  that  he  must  become  an 
expert  with  as  little  possible  delay. 

He  buckled  the  bigger  pistol  in  its  holster  round 
his  waist  and  under  his  coat,  the  smaller  he  slipped 
into  his  hip-pocket.  He  also  took  two  hundred 
rounds  of  ammunition  and  set  off  for  the  local  rifle 
range. 

At  that  time  of  the  day  it  was  deserted,  and  he 
spent  two  hours  of  solid  practice  and  complete  en- 
joyment; he  also  used  up  the  two  hundred  rounds. 
His  expertness  surprised  himself,  so  he  must  have 
been  very  apt;  while  in  drawing  from  the  pocket 
and  firing  ten  shots  with  extreme  rapidity  in  any 
given  direction,  he  excelled. 

On  the  way  home  to  "Thornby"  he  practised  do- 
ing this,  and  it  says  something  for  the  newly  ac- 
quired caution  of  a  hardened  adventurer  that  he  did 
not  actually  fire  ten  shots. 

Indeed  the  round  policeman  he  met  on  the  way, 
and  who  observed  Duffy  suddenly  whip  round  in 
the  middle  of  a  stately  walk,  a  glittering,  vicious- 
looking  object  in  his  hand  that  had  appeared  as  if 
by  magic,  was  sufficiently  impressed  to  chase  Duffy 
a  heavy  mile  at  the  end  of  which  he  lost  him. 


78          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Later  the  round  policeman  wrote  the  masterpiece 
of  an  official  report  concerning  Sinn  Fein  activities 
in  the  quiet  town  of  Harpenden.  If  the  mystery 
was  never  cleared  up,  the  policeman  ultimately  be- 
came a  sergeant  despite  the  opinion  of  his  fellow- 
constables  that  the  armed  Sinn  Feiner  was  a  crea- 
ture of  his  imagination,  conjured  up  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  earning  undeserved  promotion. 

But  by  that  time  Duffy  was  under  another  sun, 
and  having  successfully  eluded  the  minion  of  the 
law,  he  forgot  all  about  him  in  thinking  out  appro- 
priate names  for  his  two  lethal  weapons.  An  adven- 
turer usually  displays  little  eccentricities  of  that 
sort. 

After  much  thought  he  decided  to  call  the  long 
but  lethal  one,  "Elizabeth,"  and  the  short,  but 
equally  lethal  automatic,  "Gilbert."  He  felt  the 
names  were  appropriate,  but  in  what  manner  he 
did  not  know;  nor  did  he  care.  They  were  good 
names. 

When  he  reached  "Thornby,"  tea,  a  well-earned 
tea,  was  awaiting  him;  he  ate  as  a  hardened  adven- 
turer who  has  done  well. 

On  four  afternoons  he  shot  solidly  for  two  hours. 
At  odd  moments  during  the  day  he  would  whip 


CUTTING  CORDS  79 

Gilbert  out  of  his  hip-pocket  with  increasing  speed. 

The  last  two  days  of  the  precious  week  were  very 
full,  mainly  for  Aunt  'Tilda;  but  eventually  all 
Duffy's  outfit  was  packed  away  in  its  metal-bound 
boxes  and  dispatched  to  "The  Rose  of  Washington 
Square,"  which  was  expecting  Mr.  Peter  Duff  with 
considerable  speculation,  since  Mr.  Northcote  had 
written  to  Captain  Fellowes  informing  him  of  Duffy's 
commission. 

Actually  Honest  Pig  Fellowes  confided  in  his  mate 
that  Mr.  Peter  Duff  was  going  to  be  superfluous — 
but  he  expressed  it  in  particularly  vivid  and  pic- 
turesque words. 

Duffy  cut  the  last  cord  that  bound  him  to  his 
old  life  with  a  relentless  heart.  An  adventurer,  to 
Duffy  at  all  events,  does  not  indulge  in  unnecessary 
sentimentalism,  and  his  farewell  to  Madeleine  was 
not  marred  by  any  such  display. 

The  evening  before  he  was  due  on  board  Duffy 
said  "Good-by"  to  the  Parmarshes. 

At  the  gate  he  lingered  when  the  time  came  for 
him  to  go,  with  Madeleine.  She  was  subdued,  her 
cheerful  chatter  markedly  absent. 

"We  shall  miss  you,  Duffy,"  she  said.  "The  9.20 
will  not  be  very  entertaining  for  me  now." 


8o          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Duffy  felt  uncomfortable. 

"I'm  sorry  you  should  feel  that  way,"  he  said. 
"But  I  expect  you  will  soon  find  some  one  else  to 
talk  to,"  he  added  cheerfully. 

Madeleine  did  not  immediately  protest  that  she 
would  not;  she  knew  and  Duffy  knew  that  it  was 
more  than  likely  that  she  would.  She  had  reached 
that  age  when  the  desire  to  experiment  is  very 
insistent,  and  one  could  not  experiment  with  Duffy. 
Indeed,  to  tell  the  truth,  she  had  found  of  late 
that  the  task  of  playing  the  part  of  Duffy's  devoted 
admirer  was  becoming  a  little  irksome;  she  was 
young  and  Duffy  would  wear  horn-rimmed  spec- 
tacles. With  the  easy  forgetfulness  of  youth,  she 
had  allowed  his  summary  dealing  with  the  bullet- 
headed  man  to  fade  in  her  memory. 

Duffy,  on  the  other  hand,  was  male-like  looking 
into  the  future  with  eager  eyes.  Already  more  than 
half  his  mind  was  at  sea  with  "The  Rose  of  Wash- 
ington Square"  and  Madeleine  seemed  dim,  even  as 
she  stood  before  him. 

They  shook  hands  presently,  discovering  that 
neither  had  anything  to  say,  and  Duffy,  very  little 
affected,  walked  across  to  "Thornby,"  where  his 
mind  was  soon  occupied  by  the  extreme  difficulty  of 


CUTTING  CORDS  81 

persuading  Aunt  'Tilda  to  give  up  the  idea  of  going 
to  Tilbury  with  him  on  the  morrow. 

An  adventurer,  hardened  or  not,  does  not  take 
his  aunt  to  see  him  off  on  his  adventure.  Aunt 
'Tilda  cajoled,  but  Duffy  was  adamant  and  caught 
his  train  in  the  morning — alone. 


JIMMY 

DUFFY'S  first  impressions  of  "The  Rose  of  Washing- 
ton Square"  were  vaguely  disappointing  to  him  as 
he  stood  on  Parnel's  Wharf  and  looked  across  at  her. 
To  his  mind  she  was  not  sinister  enough  to  be  in 
complete  keeping  with  the  truest  atmosphere  of  ad- 
venture. She  was  built  in  the  long,  rakish  line  of 
a  fast  traveler;  high  in  the  fo'castle  and  with  a  long 
gradual  slope  to  the  stern,  but  though  her  single  fun- 
nel was  raked,  it  was  short  and  squat  and  comfort- 
able. 

He  was  reminded  of  a  particular,  black  barnyard 
fowl  that  dwelt  in  Harpenden  in  the  lively  days 
of  his  bloodhound. 

When  he  clambered  up  the  gangway  of  "The 
Rose"  from  the  dinghy  he  had  hired  to  carry  him 
across  to  her,  he  found  everything  covered  with  a 
black  layer  of  coal-dust,  while  odds  and  ends  of 
gear  and  tackle  littered  the  deck.  Through  these 
he  picked  his  way  to  a  deck-hand  who  was  scrubbing 

83 


JIMMY  83 

industriously  in  the  scuppers,  and  inquired  for  Cap- 
tain Fellowes. 

A  dirty  thumb  indicated  a  companionway  in  the 
waist  of  the  ship,  and  Duffy  walked  down  it  into 
the  main-cabin. 

It  was,  for  a  tramp  steamer,  a  large  cabin,  well 
lighted  by  a  skylight;  cushion-covered  lockers  ran 
down  one  side;  above  were  wide  ports  that  gave 
a  comprehensive  view  of  the  muddy  waters  and 
muddier  boats  of  Tilbury.  On  the  other  side  were 
three  doors  which  Duffy  surmised  opened  into  sleep- 
ing cabins. 

A  long  table  occupied  the  center  of  the  saloon 
under  the  skylight,  and  at  it  sat  two  men,  one  tall 
and  with  great  breadth  of  shoulder  and  shaggy 
hair,  a  pointed  beard  poking  expressively  from  his 
chin.  The  other  was  smaller,  narrow-shouldered  and 
boasting  a  livery-white  face,  from  which  a  week's 
unattended  hair  sprouted  dirtily. 

"Captain  Fellowes?"  asked  Duffy,  and  shifted 
the  heavy  mackintosh  he  was  carrying  to  his  shoul- 
der. He  blinked  at  the  two  men  through  his  spec- 
tacles. 

"I  am  Captain  Fellowes,"  answered  the  bigger 
man,  and  he  stuck  out  his  chin;  "and  who  may 
you  be?" 


84         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"I  am  Peter  Duff,"  said  Duffy  firmly;  he  felt 
a  little  nervous  at  the  sight  of  these  two  in  their 
greasy,  stained  jerseys  and  dungarees.  They  might 
look  romantic  but  they  savored  of  the  wharves. 

"Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Duff,  we  were  expecting  you,"  said 
Honest  Pig  Fellowes.  His  voice,  although  thick  and 
throaty,  had  a  rather  pleasant  northern  burr  in  it. 
Duffy  decided  that  he  would  not  have  much  diffi- 
culty in  hitting  it  off  with  him.  He  might  be  rough 
and  he  might  be  "honest,"  but  he  seemed  a 
man. 

"Let  me  introduce  you;  my  mate,  Mr.  Weames," 
he  said. 

Duffy  turned  to  the  smaller  man  and  murmured 
something  to  the  effect  that  "he  was  pleased  to 
meet  him."  Actually  he  was  not  so  pleased.  He 
formed  an  instant  and  strong  dislike  for  him.  Mr. 
Weames  seemed  essentially  evil,  sly  and  dishonest. 
Also  he  reminded  Duffy  in  a  vague  way  of  some  one 
he  could  not  remember. 

Of  the  two  he  infinitely  preferred  the  open  air  of 
scoundrelism  of  Honest  Pig  to  the  more  reptilian 
atmosphere  of  Mr.  Weames.  Honest  Pig  was  prob- 
ably an  unprincipled  ruffian,  but  he  was  not  a  cow- 
ard. While  Duffy  observed  all  this  carefully,  Mr. 
Weames  also  seemed  to  be  taking  a  keen  interest  in 


JIMMY  85 

Duffy,  but  from  the  slight  sneer  on  his  face  he  did 
not  seem  to  be  impressed.  Duffy,  at  first  a  little  an- 
noyed, afterwards  found  a  measure  of  satisfaction  in 
it.  If  it  came  to  trouble  Mr.  Weames  would  under- 
rate his  ability  as  a  hardened  adventurer.  It  might 
prove  exceedingly  useful. 

He  produced  Mr.  Northcote's  letter  of  introduc- 
tion and  handed  it  to  Honest  Pig,  who  received  it 
in  a  gnarled  fist  and  read  it  through  laboriously. 

There  was  little  in  it,  but  it  was  to  the  point. 
It  officially  gave  Mr.  Peter  Duff  full  executive  pow- 
ers in  all  matters  to  do  with  the  lifving  of  the  jade, 
and  enjoined  Captain  Fellowes  to  place  all  means 
at  his  disposal  for  that  purpose.  All  of  which  Cap- 
tain Fellowes  had  learned  from  his  employer's  previ- 
ous letter,  which  had  acquainted  him  with  Duffy's 
existence,  qualifications,  and  part  he  was  to  play  in 
the  expedition. 

Honest  Pig  laid  down  the  letter  and  looked  up. 

"I  hope  we  will  get  on  well  together,  Mr.  Duff," 
he  said,  "for  I  assure  you  nothing  makes  more  for 
the  success  of  a  business  of  this  kind  than  a  crowd 
that  pulls  together." 

And  he  held  out  his  hand.  Duffy  gripped  it 
firmly.  He  felt  he  could  "pull  together"  with  the 
captain  pretty  well. 


86         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Mr.  Weaines  watched  them  through  his  narrow, 
black  eyes. 

"I've  set  this  berth  apart  for  you,  Mr.  Duff," 
said  Honest  Pig,  and  he  rose  and  opened  the  center 
of  the  three  doors.  "I  think  you  will  find  it  ship- 
shape. If  you  want  the  steward,  Evans,  pull  this 
bell-rope.  Kick  him  once  or  twice  and  he'll  answer 
like  a  bird.  I've  trained  him." 

"Sure!"  said  Duffy  in  the  tone  of  a  man  who 
habitually  kicks  his  inferiors.  He  saw  that  his  boxes 
had  arrived  along  with  the  two  thousand  rounds 
of  ammunition  from  Carnage's. 

Honest  Pig  went  back  to  the  table  and  com- 
menced an  earnest  discussion  with  his  mate  on  the 
advisability  of  purchasing  a  long-boat  and  where  it 
was  to  be  done.  If  they  were  to  get  away  on  the 
evening  tide,  it  would  have  to  be  dealt  with  at  once. 

Mr.  Weames  was  of  the  opinion  that  Bates  might 
have  a  long-boat. 

Duffy  changed  into  a  dark-blue  jersey  and  dun- 
garee trousers,  and  joined  them.  Honest  Pig  noted 
the  change  of  attire  with  approval. 

"Much  more  useful,  Mr.  Duff.  I  can  see  you 
know  how  to  go  about  things." 

Duffy  glowed,  and  forthwith  entered  firmly  into 
their  discussion  about  the  long-boat.  At  the  end 


JIMMY  87 

of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Duffy  had  convinced  them 
that  they  couldn't  do  better  than  let  him  find  one. 

Five  minutes  later  he  was  in  one  of  the  ship's 
boats,  being  rowed  by  two  of  the  crew  to  the  wharf. 
He  noticed  that  these  particular  men  were  not  very 
prepossessing,  they  were  a  little  slow  and  by  no 
means  willing. 

Duffy  asked  them  if  they  had  sailed  with  Captain 
Fellowes  before.  Neither  of  them  had.  Further 
inquiries  elicited  the  information  that  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Evans,  the  steward,  none  of  the  present 
crew,  fifteen  in  all  counting  the  engine-room,  had 
sailed  in  "The  Rose"  before.  Duffy  was  wondering 
at  this  when  it  struck  him  that  in  all  probability 
it  was  Honest  Pig's  policy — why,  though,  he  did  not 
know. 

From  a  dock  policeman  Duffy  learned  where 
Bates,  purveyor  of  long-boats,  was  to  be  found, 
and  he  set  off  with  one  of  the  men,  leaving  the  other 
to  look  after  the  boat.  The  dock  policeman,  used 
as  he  was  to  curious  things,  stared  after  the  small, 
sandy-haired  sailorman  with  his  air  of  authority  and 
his  horn-rimmed  spectacles. 

At  the  emporium  of  Mr.  Bates,  Duffy  found  a 
long-boat  of  sufficient  long-ness  to  satisfy  him.  He 
wanted  to  make  quite  sure  that  the  Treasure  of  the 


88          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Manchus  should  have  plenty  of  room  on  board  it, 
since  the  treasure,  when  it  was  unearthed,  would 
have  to  be  transported  to  "The  Rose"  in  it. 

After  reducing  the  price  of  the  long-boat  by  one- 
third,  he  told  Mr.  Bates  to  send  it  to  "The  Rose" 
at  once,  cash  on  delivery,  and  returned  to  Honest 
Pig  forthwith. 

The  Captain  complimented  him  upon  his  dispatch, 
and  later,  when  the  long-boat  arrived,  inquired  the 
reason  for  its  exceptional  size.  Duffy  explained,  and 
was  further  complimented  on  his  foresight. 

When  Duffy  sat  down  to  supper  with  the  Captain 
and  Mr.  Weames,  he  felt  thoroughly  one  of  them. 
Honest  Pig  he  frankly  admired,  not  too  obtrusively 
of  course,  while  the  prospect  of  Mr.  Weames  as  a 
ship-mate  became  more  palatable. 

That  night  Duffy  fell  into  the  sleep  of  a  fully 
hardened  adventurer  in  a  bunk  that  was  the  essence 
of  comfort,  with  the  lap  of  the  Thames  against  the 
bulkhead  as  a  pleasant  lullaby. 

At  ten  o'clock  next  morning  (Duffy  had  yet  to 
learn  the  mystery  of  "bells") — the  good  ship  "Rose 
of  Washington  Square"  up-anchored  and  slid 
through  the  open  mouth  of  the  Thames  into  the 
arms  of  the  welcoming  sea. 

She  beat  her  way  with  an  even,  if  slightly  rolling, 


JIMMY  89 

gait  into  the  sunlight  of  freedom.  To  Duffy  as  he 
stood  at  the  taffrail,  taking  deep  breaths  of  the  salt 
breeze,  the  breeze  that  whispered  "adventure — ad- 
venture— adventure"  in  his  ear,  everything  was 
a-sparkle  with  the  joy  of  exquisite  life. 

The  hum  of  the  crew,  still  cleaning  up  after  the 
weeks  in  dock  and  the  cries  of  wheeling  sea-birds, 
made  the  sweetest  music  he  had  ever  heard.  The 
fierce  shouting  of  Honest  Pig  at  some  slothful  deck- 
hand hardly  roused  him;  rather  did  it  fit  in  with 
the  whole  atmosphere  of  things. 

At  ten  o'clock  that  night  Duffy  lay  in  his  bunk, 
horribly  and  beastly  sea-sick — cursing  himself  and 
cursing  the  sea,  but  mostly  he  cursed  himself. 

The  hardened  adventurer  is  never  sea-sick.  For 
the  first  time  in  the  adventure  Duffy  felt  he  had 
failed. 

Three  awful  days  passed,  awful  for  Duffy  but  of 
an  average  ordinariness  for  the  other  members  of 
"The  Rose's"  personnel.  On  the  morning  of  the 
third  day  Duffy  awoke,  weak  but  hungry.  He 
dressed,  shaved  an  ugly  but  adventurer's  growth 
from  his  chin,  and  went  on  deck.  Evans  was  lay- 
ing breakfast  in  the  saloon  and  Duffy  as  he  passed 
through  the  saloon  caught  a  sniff  of  appetizing  fra- 
grance from  the  calaboose. 


90         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Captain  Fellowes  was  on  the  bridge  with  the 
mate.  He  called  a  cheerful  greeting  to  Duffy,  who 
joined  them. 

"Thank  goodness  that's  over,"  he  said.  "I  think 
I  can  take  a  little  notice  of  things  now.  I  can't  un- 
derstand why  it  got  me  down.  It's  never  happened 
before." 

This  was  strictly  true  since  Duffy  had  never  been 
more  than  four  hundred  yards  from  dry  land  in  his 
life,  and  that,  the  only  occasion,  was  by  means  of 
the  pier  at  Brighton. 

Honest  Pig  commiserated  with  him. 

Mr.  Weames  grunted  something  and  consulted 
the  compass. 

"Where  are  we?"  inquired  Duffy. 

"About  forty  miles  west  of  the  French  coast," 
replied  Honest  Pig,  "and  considering  we've  a  head 
current,  we're  not  doing  so  badly." 

The  sea  was  choppy  and  the  sky  wild  with  rain 
clouds;  but  it  was  a  fresh,  vivid  morning  for  all 
that,  and  Duffy  felt  better  than  he  had  felt  for  a 
long  while. 

At  this  point  Evans  beat  lustily  on  the  gong  to 
announce  breakfast,  and  leaving  "The  Rose"  in  the 
hands  of  the  steersman,  the  three  descended  into  the 


JIMMY  91 

saloon  and  commenced  their  breakfast.  Duffy  fell 
to  with  a  readiness  that  brought  a  smile  to  the  face 
of  Honest  Pig. 

"That's  right,  sonny,"  he  said.  "There's  plenty 
more  where  that  comes  from;  Yen  San  has  been 
worrying  some  about  you." 

"Yen  San?" 

"Yep — Yen  San;  he's  the  cook,"  answered  Hon- 
est Pig.  "You  must  meet  him,  he's  one  of  the  slick- 
est cooks  I've  ever  struck.  He's  a  bit  keen  on  gravy, 
but  I've  always  reckoned  that's  a  fault  on  the  right 
side.  He  came  aboard  the  day  before  you  arrived; 
said  he'd  been  out  of  a  berth  for  months  and  begged 
me  to  give  him  a  trial.  I  don't  hold  with  Chinks  as 
a  rule  but  I'm  glad  I  let  him  sign  on.  Damned  good 
cook,  I'll  tell  the  world!" 

Duffy  had  noticed  before  that  Honest  Pig  had  a 
leaning  in  his  speech  towards  Americanese.  He  was 
not  American;  he  came  from  the  region  of  New- 
castle, he  had  told  Duffy,  and  he  put  the  slang  down 
to  Honest  Pig's  shady  business  having  taken  him  to 
the  New  World.  It  is  bigger,  and  for  that  reason 
more  sparsely  policed. 

Duffy  looked  across  the  table  at  the  mate,  who 
was  sucking  up  his  food  with  what  seemed  unneces- 


92          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

sary  noise.  He  might,  from  his  manner  of  taking 
nourishment,  have  hailed  from  Central  Europe,  and 
Duffy  made  a  mental  note  that  he  must  look  at  the 
back  of  Mr.  Weames'  head.  That  portion  of  the 
anatomy  is  sometimes  a  very  good  guide  to  a  man's 
birthplace;  at  least  it  is  to  a  student  of  human 
beings,  which  every  successful  adventurer  must  of 
necessity  be. 

Duffy  had  a  hankering  to  discuss  the  Treasure 
of  the  Manchus  with  Honest  Pig,  but  the  presence 
of  Mr.  Weames  decided  him  against  it. 

He  wanted  to  know  where  the  directions  were 
kept — not  that  he  wanted  to  lay  surreptitious  fingers 
on  them,  but  he  wanted  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on 
them.  He  did  not  like  Mr.  Weames,  and  he  could 
tell  from  the  manner  in  which  Honest  Pig  addressed 
him,  that  they  had  not  sailed  together  before.  The 
captain  seemed  to  be  on  his  guard  against  the  mate. 

He  was  turning  these  things  over  in  his  mind 
when  a  sudden  movement  on  the  part  of  Honest  Pig 
attracted  his  attention.  Honest  Pig  was  listening 
intently,  his  cup  arrested  on  its  way  to  his  mouth. 

Duffy  also  listened — intently,  and  heard  light  foot- 
falls on  the  deck  above  their  heads  and  a  moment 
afterwards,  down  the  companion-way. 


JIMMY  93 

Mr.  Weames  heard  them  now,  above  the  sound 
of  his  eating,  and  also  listened  intently. 

All  three  gazed  expectantly  at  the  foot  of  the 
companion-way. 

Then  a  pair  of  feet,  bare,  with  above  them  a 
length  of  bare  leg,  appeared  on  the  steps,  and  a 
second  later  a  girl  walked  into  the  saloon. 

She  was  dark,  very  dark,  with  the  raven-black 
hair  of  the  gipsy  cropped  in  close  curls.  Dark  eyes, 
and  lips  full  and  red  against  a  fair  skin;  she  was 
beautiful  with  an  almost  savage  vividness.  She  wore 
a  white,  close-fitting  jersey  and  a  navy-blue  serge 
skirt. 

She  stood  and  looked  at  the  three  men,  while 
Duffy  surprised,  so  he  assured  himself,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  gazed  at  this  dramatic  vision  with 
startled  eyes. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  cabin  was  electric — almost 
alive  with  expectancy  for  the  next  move. 

It  came  from  Honest  Pig  in  the  form  of  a  short, 
savage  bark: 

"Hell-and-damnation,  Jimmy,  how  the  devil  did 
you  get  here?"  he  shouted,  and  he  dropped  his  cup 
with  a  shattering  crash. 

Jimmy  vouchsafed  not  a  word,  but  pulling  a  chair 


94          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

to  the  table,  seated  herself  with  the  most  exquisite 
calmness  in  the  world  and  rang  the  bell  for  Evans. 
Then  she  answered: 
"Down  the  companion,  Daddy." 


CHAPTER  VI 

AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK 

EVANS  appeared  through  the  door  of  the  galley  cor- 
ridor, which  led  up  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  cabin, 
and  approached  the  table. 

Jimmy  turned  to  him  and  said: 

"Good  morning,  Evans;  another  place,  please." 

Evans  shifted  his  weight  onto  the  other  foot  and 
looked  acutely  uncomfortable.  The  girl  stared  at 
him. 

"Well?"    Her  voice  was  like  the  crack  of  a  whip. 

"Er — er,  yes,  Miss  Jimmy,"  said  Evans  in  the 
grip  of  undiluted  terror,  and  he  stumbled  hurriedly 
out  of  the  cabin. 

Honest  Pig  sat  in  a  frozen  silence  after  his  first 
outburst;  he  was  apparently  bottling  up  some  stir- 
ring emotion.  Duffy  gripped  the  edge  of  the  table 
and  waited. 

When  Evans  had  gone,  Honest  Pig  said  in  a 
thick,  throaty  voice: 

"Jimmy,  would  I  be  troubling  you  mightily  if 
I  asked  you  to  explain  what  you  mean  by  this?" 

95 


96          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

The  girl  examined  her  little  finger  carefully  for  a 
moment,  then  she  looked  up  at  her  father. 

"Daddy,  I  couldn't  stick  Miss  Craven's.  I  know 
I'm  beastly  bad-mannered,  and  uneducated,  and 
all  that,  and  .  .  ."  she  searched  her  memory  "... 
£a  disgrace  to  my  own  father,'  but  even  for  you, 
Daddy,  I  couldn't  stay  another  moment  with  that 
horrible  woman  and  her  stupid,  stuffy  way  of  living. 
The  first  night  I  was  there  she  discovered  I  didn't 
wear  armor  plate  and  called  me  'a  heathenish,  little 
savage,'  and  when  I  kicked  the  butler  for  knocking 
a  kitten  off  a  chair,  she  put  me  to  bed  without  any 
supper — like  a  kid.  You  sent  me  there  to  be  'fin- 
ished off,'  Daddy.  I  tell  you  I  pretty  nearly  was, 
and  that  inside  of  twenty-four  hours!" 

Jimmy,  stopped  for  breath;  her  eyes  were  flash- 
ing. Honest  Pig  was  watching  her,  his  jaw  stuck 
out.  Then  she  went  on: 

"I  thought  of  you  going  off  to  China  in  The 
Rose,'  adventuring  across  the  world,  while  I  en- 
joyed a  year  of  hell — that's  what  it  would  have  been 
— hell," — she  used  the  word  with  the  ease  of  habit, 
"and — well,  I  just  locked  the  Craven  beast  in  her 
room  the  other  morning  and  came  down  to  Tilbury, 
got  across  to  'The  Rose'  without  being  seen — inter- 
viewed Evans  while  you  were  ashore  at  the  Agent's 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  97 

signing  on  the  crew,  and  threatened  to  flay  him  alive 
if  he  didn't  help  me.  Then  I  stowed-away  in  the 
after-hold  until  we  were  well  at  sea.  Evans  brought 
me  food  and  found  me  a  hammock,  which  I  slung 
very  cosily.  I've  slept  most  of  the  time,"  she  added. 

Honest  Pig  looked  helpless;  his  rage  at  being 
disobeyed  was  evaporating.  He  knew  perfectly  well 
that  at  her  age  nothing  would  have  induced  him 
to  leave  his  father's  boat.  There  were  four  genera- 
tions of  seafaring  blood  in  Jimmy,  to  say  nothing  of 
her  mother's  hot-headed  wilfulness  to  give  it  vitality. 

After  a  long  moment  Honest  Pig  smiled — and 
the  ice  was  broken — the  girl  ran  around  the  table 
and  kissed  him.  The  matter  was  closed. 

Duffy  liked  the  look  of  Jimmy;  she  was  very 
vivid,  and  he  liked  vivid  people,  while  her  obvious 
appetite  for  adventure  struck  a  sympathetic  chord 
in  his  heart.  At  the  same  time  he  had  to  admit  to 
himself  that  adventuring  was  not  a  girl's  job;  Duffy, 
poor  soul,  was  trying  to  reconcile  her  with  Made- 
leine, and  hardly  realized  the  weakness  of  the 
effort. 

But  adventuring  was  not  a  girl's  job;  none  of 
the  adventures  he  could  remember  had  a  girl  in  them 
except  for  the  hero  to  rescue  from  awkward  pre- 
'dicaments.  Jimmy  gave  the  distinct  impression  that 


98          THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

she  could  very  well  look  after  herself,  but  in  spite 

of  this  impression,  Duffy  rather  foolishly  observed: 

"Risky  business;  lifting  jade." 

"Risky!"  Jimmy's  voice  was  scornful,  and  she 
seemed  to  notice  Duffy  for  the  first  time.  "Who's 
that,  Daddy?"  she  asked. 

"Let  me  introduce  you,"  said  Honest  Pig.  "My 
young  devil,  Jimmy — Mr.  Peter  Duff;  also  the  mate, 
Mr.  Weames." 

"How  d'ye  do?"  said  Duffy. 

Jimmy  stared  hard  at  him,  rather  as  though  he 
was  a  hitherto  unknown  species  of  lepidoptera.  She 
took  no  notice  of  Mr.  Weames,  who  scowled  and 
went  noisily  on  with  his  food. 

Evans  came  in  with  Jimmy's  breakfast;  he  walked 
a  little  sideways,  keeping  Honest  Pig  well  in  view 
all  the  while. 

Honest  Pig  eyed  him  with  an  ominous  thought- 
fulness.  Jimmy  saw  it,  and  said: 

"You're  not  to  blow  him  up,  Daddy.  I  couldn't 
be  allowed  to  starve — and  anyway  he  only  helped 
me  because  I  put  the  fear  of  God  into  him." 

"You  did  that,  miss,"  said  Evans  fervently,  and 
he  hurried  out  again. 

Honest  Pig  laughed  again,  and  then  frowned; 
it  struck  him  forcibly  that  Evans  was  more  afraid 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  99 

of  the  captain's  daughter  than  he  was  of  the  captain. 
That  was  not  discipline. 

Duffy  was  annoyed  at  the  attitude  Jimmy  had 
adopted  to  him,  and  this  time  he  found  no  satis- 
faction in  the  fact  that  he  had  not  instantly  been 
recognized  as  a  hardened  adventurer.  He  took  up 
the  conversation  in  firm  hands,  therefore,  and  put 
it  onto  the  subject  of  treasure. 

"How  long  will  it  take  us  to  reach  Taiho  Shan?" 
he  asked  Honest  Pig. 

"Depends  on  a  great  many  things,"  said  the 
captain.  "With  the  average  luck  we  ought  to  do 
it  in  about  eight  to  ten  weeks;  we  shall  have  to 
put  into  Aden  for  coal,  and  again  at  Shanghai.  We 
don't  want  to  have  to  answer  a  lot  of  silly  damn 
questions  from  interfering  Chinese  gunboats — or  any 
other  gunboats  for  that  matter — when  we've  got  the 
Treasure  on  board.  The  quicker  and  farther  we 
move  without  having  to  deal  with  a  coal  shortage 
the  better." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Jimmy.  "In  that  sealing  expedi- 
tion we  burned  all  the  movable  stuff  on  board  to 
keep  our  heels  showing  to  some  dam'  yellow 
'T.B.D.'  that  stuck  its  interfering  nose  into  the  mid- 
dle of  a  very  prosperous  piece  of  business." 

Duffy  gazed  at  her  with  envious  eyes.     The  word 


ioo        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"dam' "  grated  rather,  and  he  could  not  remember 
Madeleine  ever  having  used  it.  Again  he  felt  a  little 
out  of  his  depth  with  this  new  factor  in  the  situa- 
tion. 

The  conversation  during  the  rest  of  the  meal  dealt 
with  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus.  The  fact  that 
it  was  mainly,  if  not  solely,  jade  puzzled  everybody 
but  Duffy,  who  by  this  time  had  acquired  a  passing 
knowledge  of  that  hardest  of  all  stones,  and  he  was 
able  to  tell  them  about  it.  They  listened  with  defer- 
ence, and  Jimmy  became  quite  enthusiastic  about  it. 

Duffy  had  a  value — of  a  sort,  but  he  wished  that 
it  was  a  value  of  a  more  exciting  nature;  he  felt, 
however,  that  the  adventure  was  as  yet  in  its  early 
beginnings.  Time  would  show. 

After  breakfast  Honest  Pig  retired  into  the  chart- 
house,  a  substantial  affair  perched  aft  with  the 
deck-house,  and  busied  himself  with  mathematical 
calculations  that  kept  him  quiet  most  of  the  morn- 
ing. Mr.  Weames  took  the  bridge  and  snarled  ami- 
ably at  anybody  who  came  near  him. 

Jimmy  commandeered  one  of  the  fo'castle  hands 
and  started  him  on  her  cabin,  which  was  next  to 
Duffy's.  She  wanted  it  thoroughly  spring-cleaned. 

Duffy  hung  around  for  a  while  and  tried  to  assist 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  101 

them,  but  he  seemed  to  get  in  the  way.  Presently 
Jimmy,  who  was  very  hot  and  dusty,  suggested  he 
should  go  and  find  something  else  to  do: 

"Have  you  been  down  in  the  engine-room,  Mr. 
Duff?"  she  asked.  "MacNab  loves  people  to  go 
down  and  admire  it." 

"No,  I  haven't,"  said  Duffy.    "How  do  I  find  it?" 

"Dowa  the  after-companion,"  said  Jimmy,  as  she 
drove  a  sleepy  cockroach  into  a  corner  and  dis- 
patched him;  Duffy  frankly  did  not  interest  her. 
She  had  been  used  all  her  life,  from  the  age  of  nine, 
to  be  exact,  to  the  rough,  loud-voiced  sons  of  the  sea. 
A  man  who  swore  and  was  ready  with  his  fists,  she 
knew  and  understood,  but  this  small  person  with 
horn-rimmed  spectacles  and  a  knowledge  of  jade 
was  outside  her  experience  as  a  type.  Though  she 
told  herself  she  was  not  interested  in  him  she  had 
to  admit  that  he  was  a  problem.  If  she  knew  how 
to  deal  with  the  man  who  swore  and  was  ready  with 
his  fists,  she  felt  that  that  same  dealing  would  be 
quite  effective  with  Duffy;  he  was  small,  and  with 
the  optimism  of  youth  she  assured  herself  that  if 
occasion  arose,  she  would  have  no  difficulty  with 
him. 

Duffy  met  MacNab.    MacNab  was  a  dour  little 


102        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Scotchman,  a  Scotchman  because  chief  engineers  on 
ships  always  are.  He  wore  a  perpetual  sneer,  and 
a  piece  of  cotton-waste  as  a  necktie. 

"Good  morning,"  said  Duffy.  "I'm  Peter  Duff. 
I've  come  to  see  your  engines." 

"Guid  morning  ta  ye,  Mr.  Duff.  This  is  a  damned 
awfu'  tin-can,  this  boat,  but  she's  a  bonny  set  o' 
engines  in  her.  Look  na,"  and  he  stroked  a  descend- 
ing piston-rod  affectionately. 

Duffy  learned  all  about  marine  engines  for  an 
hour,  and  when  he  left  Mr.  MacNab  he  left  a  friend. 
Duffy  had  appreciated  some  of  the  romance  of  a 
ship's  engine-room,  and  furthermore  the  part  it 
played  in  the  heart  of  the  little  engineer.  He  was 
another  expert,  and  Duffy  adored  experts  with  all 
the  expert's  enthusiasm. 

Then  he  returned  to  his  cabin  and  fetched  out 
Elizabeth  and  Gilbert;  on  his  way  through  the  saloon 
he  passed  Jimmy,  who  observed  his  armory  with 
some  curiosity.  She  even  thought  it  worth  while 
to  follow  him. 

Duffy  made  his  way  to  the  stern,  and  on  a  portion 
of  deck  hidden  from  the  bridge  by  the  funnel,  com- 
menced his  practice.  He  began  with  half-an-hour 
of  drawing  Gilbert  from  his  hip  pockets  with  either 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  103 

hand,  finding  that  he  could  draw  almost  as  speedily 
from  the  left  as  the  right. 

Jimmy  stood  and  watched  him  for  a  while;  then 
she  got  tired  of  it  and  went  below  again  to  her  spring- 
cleaning  in  a  troubled  state  of  mind.  This  pistol 
expertness  on  the  part  of  the  super-cargo  in  addition 
to,  or  rather  in  contradiction  of  his  horn-rimmed 
spectacles  and  his  generally  meek  atmosphere,  gave 
her  food  for  thought.  She  was  surprised. 

Later  she  was  even  further  surprised  to  hear  a 
crackling  fusilade  of  shots  that  sounded  uncom- 
monly like  a  battle.  She  snatched  her  Colt,  an  old- 
fashioned,  rakish  affair  of  six  chambers,  and  ran  up 
the  companionway. 

Duffy,  with  a  youth's  desire  for  noise  and  an  ad- 
venturer's desire  for  accurate  shooting,  had  wedged 
a  piece  of  board  into  a  winch,  and  with  a  tar  brush 
painted  a  small  black  spot  on  it. 

With  great  policy  he  first  of  all  fired  ten  shots 
into  the  air  with  Elizabeth,  and  waited. 

Honest  Pig  arrived  first,  in  a  great  hurry  and  a 
pistol  in  each  hand. 

"Hell!"  shouted  Honest  Pig.  "What  the  devil 
are  you  fooling  with?" 

"Target,"  said  Duffy  succinctly,  and   reloaded 


104        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Elizabeth.  Honest  Pig  glanced  at  the  target;  it  was 
unharmed. 

"Well,  don't  start  fooling  without  warning  me 
another  time,"  he  said.  "I'm  getting  on  now,  and 
these  shocks  don't  do  me  any  good.  Don't  kill 
anybody;  we're  not  over-crewed  as  it  is." 

"Right!"  said  Duffy.  He  managed  to  convey  a 
suspicion  of  concession  in  his  voice.  Honest  Pig 
put  the  pistols  in  his  pocket  and  went  back  to  his 
chart-house;  at  the  same  moment  Jimmy  and  Mr. 
Weames  came  round  the  smoke-stack  together. 

Duffy  aimed  at  the  bull's-eye  of  his  target  with 
extreme  care,  fired — and  missed.  He  fired  again — 
and  again  missed. 

Mr.  Weames  sneered  almost  audibly  and  walked 
away,  and  Jimmy,  with  a  superior  smile,  watched 
Duffy  miss  the  target  altogether  with  a  third  shot. 

"Stick  to  it,  Mr.  Duff,  stick  to  it!  It  took  me  six 
months  to  handle  a  gun,"  she  said. 

"Oh,"  said  Duffy  politely,  and  turned  to  her. 
"You  can  shoot?" 

"Some,"  Jimmy  remarked.    "Some." 

"I'll  take  you  on,"  said  Duffy.  "I've  spent  a  little 
while  at  it.  I  remember  in  Arizona  .  .  ."  he 
stopped;  the  same  reticence  which  had  prevented 
him  in  the  case  of  the  little  collector  deterred  him 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  105 

now  with  Jimmy.    He  did  not  want  to  pull  her  leg. 

"What's  the  bet?"  asked  Jimmy.  Duffy  thought 
a  moment. 

"If  you  win  I'll  give  you  a  book  on  jade;  if  I  win 
I'll  call  you  'Jimmy.'  " 

"Done!"  said  Jimmy,  and  she  gripped  his  hand 
with  strong  fingers.  It  was  the  first  time  she  had 
touched  him,  and  he  was  amazed  at  the  pleasant 
thrill  it  gave  him. 

They  tossed  for  first  shot,  and  Jimmy  won.  She 
held  her  Colt  at  her  hip  and  put  a  bullet  half  an  inch 
from  the  black  spot. 

"Best  of  nine  shots,"  said  Duffy,  and  firing  Eliza- 
beth carefully,  hit  the  black  spot. 

Jimmy's  smile  faded.  She  fired  twice.  One  bul- 
let widened  the  hole  of  her  first,  the  second  struck 
the  center  of  the  bull. 

"Not  bad,"  said  Duffy,  and  shot  carelessly,  hitting 
the  board  about  four  inches  from  the  bull.  Jimmy's 
smile  reappeared;  she  reloaded  the  Colt  in  all  cham- 
bers and  fired  six  shots  in  rapid  succession;  the  black 
spot  was  hit  twice.  Duffy  looked  respectful  and 
also  reloaded. 

"You  know,"  he  said,  "this  isn't  really  fair. 
You've  got  a  very  old-pattern  gun.  Elizabeth  is  the 
newest  of  her  kind." 


io6        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Elizabeth?"  queried  Jimmy.  "Do  you  call  it 
Elizabeth?" 

"Yes,"  said  Duffy.    "She's  very  exact.    Watch." 

Then  he  carefully  cut  the  black  spot  out  of  the 
target  with  a  ring  of  holes.  It  was  really  rather  an 
exhibition. 

"Well,  I'll  be  hung! "  said  Jimmy  under  her  breath. 

"I  don't  think  we  can  count  it  a  fair  win,"  said 
Duffy.  "But  I'm  going  to  call  you  'Jimmy,' "  he 
added. 

"All  right,"  she  said  thoughtfully.  The  problem 
of  Duffy  had  assumed  master  proportions;  he  could 
use  his  armory.  She  would  have  to  keep  a  wary  eye 
on  him;  for  what  gave  her  greater  thought  was  the 
uncomfortable  feeling  that  he  had  engineered  the 
whole  thing  from  the  beginning  in  order  to  call  her 
"Jimmy."  She  also  noticed  that  his  atmosphere  was 
not  really  meek  when  one  got  into  full  touch  with  it. 

Duffy  had  made  the  necessary  impression  and 
was  happy;  also  he  could  call  her  "Jimmy." 

At  lunch  she  tried  to  open  the  subject  of  Duffy's 
shooting,  but  he  turned  it  aside  adroitly.  He  saw 
no  reason  why  Mr.  Weames  should  know  more  about 
it  than  he  did  already.  He  wished  the  mate's  bliss- 
ful ignorance  to  remain  undisturbed. 

Mr.  Weames  was  sullen  almost  to  the  point  of 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK      107 

snarling;  he  seemed  worried  about  something  and 
Duffy  wondered  what  it  could  be.  He  made  one  or 
two  ineffectual  efforts  to  find  out  what  it  was,  but 
Mr.  Weames  would  not  bite — he  merely  growled. 

"The  Rose  of  Washington  Square"  had  by  this 
time  crossed  the  Bay  and  was  plowing  her  way 
through  warmer  seas.  The  afternoon  was  sultry  and 
Duffy  spent  it  with  Jimmy  and  a  book  on  jade  under 
an  awning  Honest  Pig  had  had  rigged  under  the  lee 
of  the  bridge.  To  Duffy  it  was  a  pleasant  after- 
noon; perhaps  because  he  wore  a  white  silk  shirt  and 
white  drill  trousers  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  but 
mainly  because  he  had  discovered  one  of  the  most 
delightful  occupations  in  the  world,  which  is  to  watch 
the  face  of  a  pretty  girl. 

Evans  brought  them  tea,  and  over  it  they  again 
discussed  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus,  and,  as  a 
seemingly  natural  sequence  to  it,  the  surliness  of  Mr. 
Weames. 

Duffy  discovered  that  she  shared  his  distrust  of 
the  mate,  and  though  they  did  not  actually  put  it 
into  direct  words,  they  formed  a  mutual  compact  to 
watch  that  worthy  gentleman.  Mutual  compacts 
between  the  sexes  are  pleasant  things. 

Then  occurred  what  Duffy  afterwards  called  the 
key  to  the  whole  adventure. 


108        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Late  that  night  he  was  leaning  against  the  rail 
watching  the  moonlight  glittering  on  the  wake,  smok- 
ing one  of  Honest  Pig's  cigars  and  meditating  upon 
many  things,  and  Jimmy  not  a  little. 

He  was  beginning  to  understand  her;  at  least  he 
thought  he  was.  A  girl  whose  life  had  been  spent, 
with  very  rare  intervals,  on  a  ship  under  all  the  skies 
and  in  all  the  seas  that  both  hemispheres  could  offer; 
her  companionship  always  that  of  men,  and  hard 
men  at  that;  living  in  an  atmosphere  where  romance 
and  adventure  were  the  daily  order  of  existence;  who 
had  developed  of  necessity  the  keenest  sense  of  self- 
reliance  and  independence;  who  swore  and  shot  like 
a  man — such  a  girl  could  hardly  be  expected  to 
conform  with  the  precepts  of  maidenly  behavior  laid 
down  in  Duffy's  mind  by  his  limited  experience  of 
female  psychology  gained  in  Harpenden.  He  could 
not  imagine  Madeleine  firing  a  six-chambered  Colt 
on  the  deck  of  an  ocean  tramp — unstockinged  and 
unshod. 

The  night  was  still  and  very  big,  the  sea  troubled 
only  by  a  gentle  swell.  The  ship  was  quiet  save  for 
occasional  snatches  of  song  from  the  fo'castle,  which 
presently  ceased  as  sleep  overcame  the  singers.  The 
light  in  the  deck-house,  where  Honest  Pig  had  his 
berth,  went  out;  the  sky-light  over  the  saloon  still 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  109 

glowed  yellow,  where  Mr.  Weames  was  studiously 
surrounding  the  contents  of  a  whisky  bottle. 
Jimmy  had  retired  early  when  she  saw  him  at  his 
efforts. 

Duffy  lost  himself  in  speculation;  he  wished  he 
could  remember  where  and  when  he  had  seen  the 
likeness  to  the  mate.  It  troubled  him  as  a  forget- 
fulness  unworthy  of  an  expert  adventurer.  And  so 
he  thought  on. 

Then  came  a  throaty  murmuring  from  the  saloon 
through  the  open  sky-light.  Mr.  Weames  had  found 
some  one  to  talk  to.  Duffy  wondered  idly  who  it 
could  be.  He  thought  of  Evans  and  then  remem- 
bered that  he  had  shut  up  the  lazarette  and  turned 
in  earlier  than  usual. 

The  murmuring  grew  in  volume  until  it  reached 
the  aspects  of  a  fight — a  tumbler  crashed  on  the 
floor  of  the  cabin.  Duffy  walked  over  to  the  sky- 
light and  looked  down  through  the  open  shutter. 

Mr.  Weames  was  directly  beneath  him,  holding 
with  two  bony  hands  the  throat  of  a  Chinaman  and 
slowly  throttling  the  life  out  of  him.  The  unfortu- 
nate man  was  bent  back  across  the  table,  and  Duffy 
saw  his  face  clearly  over  the  mate's  shoulder.  He 
also  heard  Mr.  Weames  explaining  his  behavior. 

"I'm  goin'  to  shtrangle  you,  you  sh-shtinkin'  yel- 


i  io       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

low  dog — I'll  teach  you  t'  water  my  whishky — dam' 
your  yellow  face!"  and  he  banged  the  Chinaman's 
head  on  the  table.  "Waterin'  my  whishky!  I'll 
choke  the  life  out  o'  you!" 

Duffy  realized  that  it  was  extremely  likely. 

With  a  groping  hand  he  found  an  idle,  wooden 
pulley-block  and  lifting  it  carefully,  held  it  directly 
over  Mr.  Weames — and  let  it  drop. 

It  caught  the  mate  squarely  on  the  back  of  his 
mouse-colored  head;  he  staggered  back,  let  go  of 
the  Chinaman's  throat,  and  slid  to  the  floor,  face 
downwards. 

The  Chinaman  leaped  up  like  a  cat,  snatched  the 
pulley-block,  and  like  a  shadow,  slipping  across  the 
saloon  to  the  corridor  that  led  to  the  calaboose,  dis- 
appeared down  it. 

All  this  only  occupied  a  few  seconds,  but  by  the 
time  Duffy  had  run  down  the  companionway  and 
into  the  saloon,  Jimmy,  in  her  pyjamas,  was  already 
in  it  and  was  rolling  Mr.  Weames  over  onto  his 
back.  Duffy  helped  her  to  examine  him.  He  was 
breathing  stertorously. 

"Nothing  much,"  said  Jimmy.  "What  in  the 
world's  happened  to  him?  Some  one  seems  to  have 
hit  him  on  the  head  with  a  mallet.  Who  was  it?" 

"No  idea,"  said  Duffy,  the  adventurer's  caution 


AN  IDLE  PULLEY  BLOCK  in 

coming  to  his  aid.  "Did  you  see  any  one  leaving 
the  saloon?"  he  asked. 

"Not  a  soul." 

"Do  him  good,"  remarked  Duffy,  looking  con- 
tentedly at  the  recumbent  mate.  "The  fellow's  a 

pig." 

"I  know,  he's  all  kinds  of  a  pig,  and  I  expect  one 
of  the  hands  couldn't  stick  him  any  longer — but 
that's  not  sufficient  excuse  to  knock  him  on  the  head 
with  a  mallet.  Discipline,  Mr.  Duff,  discipline; 
Weames  isn't  another  hand,  he's  the  mate"  said 
Jimmy. 

"Well,  I  don't  see  the  point  of  making  a  fuss," 
said  Duffy.  "He  must  have  been  pretty  drunk 
when  it  happened.  I  don't  suppose  he'll  remember 
a  thing  about  it  to-morrow  morning.  I'm  sure  it 
isn't  the  mallet- wielder's  fault  he's  the  mate." 

Duffy  saw  that  if  there  was  an  inquiry  it  might 
very  well  end  in  his  having  to  tell  the  truth,  in  which 
case  Honest  Pig  would  never  forgive  Mr.  Weames 
for  trying  to  throttle  the  best  cook  he  had  ever  had, 
for  the  Chinaman  must  have  been  Yen  San.  Honest 
Pig  might  put  the  mate  in  irons  until  he  could  land 
him  at  the  nearest  port,  and  that  Duffy  did  not  want. 
He  thoroughly  disliked  Mr.  Weames,  but  he  could 
not  shake  off  the  feeling  that  it  was  from  the  liver- 


ii2        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

faced  mate  that  the  adventure  was  coming — and 
Duffy  wanted  that  adventure.  It  was  what  he  was 
there  for;  how  would  it  sound  for  a  hardened  ad- 
venturer to  return  to  his  employer  and  tell  him  that 
everything  went  without  a  hitch?  It  was  quite  im- 
possible. 

Jimmy  broke  in: 

"Get  me  a  gun,"  she  said;  "I'm  going  to  have  a 
look  round." 

Duffy  fetched  Gilbert  out  of  his  case,  exchanged 
the  loaded  magazine  for  an  empty  one,  and  returned 
with  him  to  Jimmy.  Gilbert  was  still  vicious-look- 
ing, but  quite  innocuous. 

Jimmy  took  the  pistol  from  him  and  pattered  up 
the  companion  with  a  determined  air.  Duffy 
dragged  Mr.  Weames  into  that  worthy's  bunk  and 
left  him  sleeping  a  drunken  but  perfectly  healthy 
sleep. 

Then  he  turned  in,  and  when  he  heard  Jimmy 
come  back,  fell  asleep;  lulled  by  a  quiet,  even  rise 
and  fall  of  sound:  the  snores  of  the  mate  in  the  next 
cabin. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SMILING  COOK 

THE  next  morning  Duffy  met  Yen  San  while  Mr. 
Weames  lay  in  his  bunk,  a  tortured  victim  of  his 
head  and  his  unappeasable  curiosity.  For  the 
muddled  life  of  him  he  could  not  think  where  he  had 
acquired  such  a  large  and  painful  lump  on  the  back 
of  his  muddled  head.  Evans,  who  ministered  to  the 
stricken  mate,  found  him  an  exacting  patient,  while 
Honest  Pig,  who  paid  him  a  visit  after  breakfast, 
advised  him  to  take  more  water  with  it.  Mr. 
Weames  was  disrespectful. 

And  Duffy  met  Yen  San.  He  found  him  in  the 
calaboose,  seated  on  an  overturned  biscuit-tin,  peel- 
ing potatoes  and  reading  a  volume  of  Emerson's  Es- 
says that  was  propped  in  front  of  him.  He  wore  a 
silk  handkerchief  round  his  throat. 

Duffy  looked  at  Yen  San  and  Yen  San  looked  at 
Duffy,  and  neither  said  a  word.  Never  in  his  life 
had  Duffy  seen  such  an  attractive  Chinaman.  Yen 
San's  forehead  was  broad  and  high,  his  nose  and  lips 
sensitive  to  a  degree.  His  eyes,  which  conveyed 

113 


ii4       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

very  little  but  promised  a  great  deal,  were  set  well 
apart.  Altogether  he  was  a  very  pleasant  person 
to  gaze  at. 

Then  a  smile  broke  across  his  face — a  smile  that 
began  nowhere  and  ended  nowhere.  It  reminded 
Duffy  of  a  patch  of  sunshine  that  gradually  grows 
to  brilliance  on  a  ripe  cornfield,  and  then  fades  when 
the  clouds  close  above  it.  It  was  a  rare  smile. 

Neither  spoke  a  word  for  quite  a  minute,  but  a 
multitude  of  things  were  understood.  Among  them 
was  the  fact  that  Yen  San  was  perfectly  willing  to 
nurse  his  throat  in  silence. 

This  was  borne  out  later  when  they  watched 
through  the  open  port  a  small,  black  object  bobbing 
and  dancing  into  the  blue  distance.  It  was  the  idle 
pulley-block. 

Duffy  watched  it  a  little  regretfully;  it  had  made 
him  another  friend,  and  he  did  not  like  to  think  of 
it  floating  about  with  the  jetsam  of  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PISTOL  PRACTICE 

DUFFY'S  faculty  for  making  friends  had  displayed 
itself  with  some  prominence  up  to  this  point,  but 
here  his  faculty  failed  him  and  the  friend  he  lost  was 
the  last  he  would  have  chosen  to  part  with  had  he 
had  any  choice  in  the  matter.  Indeed  Duffy's  fac- 
ulty might  be  leveled  against  him  as  a  failing — in 
an  adventurer.  He  did  get  on  with  people;  ad- 
venturers do  not.  It  is  essential  to  the  success  of 
their  calling  that  they  should  have  enemies — plenty 
of  enemies. 

Although  this  losing  of  a  friend  did  not  affect  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus  except  in  a  remote  way, 
it  is  worth  recording  as  an  incident  in  which  Duffy 
approached  nearer  the  true  adventurer  than  at  any 
other  point  in  the  whole  affair.  Much  of  the  rest 
of  it  was  merely  heroic,  and  though  this  began  with 
all  the  promise  of  pure  heroism,  its  result  spoiled  it 
as  such,  so  we  must  call  it  adventure,  which  stipu- 
lates no  orthodox  endings. 

This  particular  incident  had  for  its  scene  the 

"5 


u6        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

native  quarter  of  that  most  unsavory  of  all  ports, 
Aden,  into  which  "The  Rose  of  Washington  Square" 
crawled  languidly  one  blazing  noon.  A  furious, 
blasting,  blinding,  equatorial  sun  beat  down  upon 
the  unpleasant  smells  with  all  the  enthusiasm  which 
in  that  part  of  the  world  it  displays  throughout  nine 
months  of  the  year. 

Duffy  wore  his  suede  top-boots  to  protect  his  feet 
from  the  grilling  deck;  that  is  on  those  occasions 
when  he  worked  up  sufficient  energy  to  walk  on  it. 

I  mention  his  boots  because  they  were  the  direct 
cause  of  Jimmy's  going  ashore;  she  saw  Duffy's 
boots,  envied  him  for  them,  and  decided  that  she 
must  have  a  pair,  and  those  at  once.  In  all  proba- 
bility she  would  have  worn  Duffy's  had  they  been 
smaller;  for  during  the  last  weeks  the  two  of  them 
had  grown  very  good  friends — good  enough  friends, 
at  all  events,  to  wear  each  other's  boots  if  necessary. 

First  of  all,  they  had  paired  off  naturally  in  the 
little  society  so  much  older  than  themselves  in  years, 
with  the  result  that  they  spent  much  of  the  day  to- 
gether. They  had  made  it  a  habit  to  watch  the 
painted  glory  of  the  Eastern  sunsets,  together — and 
that  in  itself  will  bring  people  near  to  one  another; 
but  also  in  their  points  of  view  they  found  much  in 
common,  although  they  gained  them  from  such  dif- 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  117 

ferent  worlds.  Moreover,  in  their  distrust  of  Mr. 
Weames,  they  had  a  bond  of  common  interest. 

Nevertheless,  Duffy  still  felt  that  this  was  not  the 
sort  of  life  a  girl  should  lead.  Adventuring  was  a 
man's  job. 

Then  Jimmy  decided  that  she  must  have  suede 
mosquito  boots,  and  in  order  to  purchase  them,  went 
ashore  without  telling  Duffy;  perhaps  she  wanted 
to  surprise  him  with  them;  or  perhaps  she  did  not 
want  to  take  Duffy  and  his  boots  into  a  store  and 
ask  for  a  pair  "like  those." 

The  first  intimation  that  Duffy  received  of  her 
intention  was  the  sight  through  the  port  of  his  cabin 
of  her  slim,  white-clad  figure  on  the  jetty.  She  was 
alone.  After  feeling  a  little  piqued  that  she  had 
not  asked  him  to  go  with  her,  he  decided  that  Aden 
was  no  place  for  an  uncavaliered  white  girl,  and  he 
searched  out  Honest  Pig  in  his  chart-house  and  said 
so. 

"Don't  worry  about  her,  Duffy,"  said  Honest  Pig. 
"The  little  devil  can  look  after  herself  all  right." 
Duffy,  through  no  effort  on  his  part,  had  quickly 
acquired  his  usual  sobriquet. 

"Aden's  a  beastly  place,"  he  said  thoughtfully. 

"Well,  if  anything  goes  wrong,  it's  Aden  I'm  wor- 
rying about,  not  Jimmy,"  replied  Honest  Pig,  with 


ii8        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

an  air  of  complete  satisfaction.    They  left  it  at  that. 

But  by  six  bells  Jimmy  had  not  returned,  and 
Duffy's  restlessness  assumed  uncomfortable  propor- 
tions. To  give  himself  something  to  think  about,  he 
took  Elizabeth  and  Gilbert  from  their  case,  and  un- 
deterred by  the  fact  that  he  had  spent  half  the  morn- 
ing at  it,  he  oiled  and  cleaned  them  with  extreme 
care.  At  seven  bells  he  got  out  a  large  manual  on 
navigation  and  tried  to  absorb  it,  but  in  spite  of  his 
growing  proficiency  in  that  difficult  art,  he  could  not 
concentrate.  He  now  admitted  to  himself  that  he 
was  worrying,  and  even  added  a  rider  to  the  effect 
that  Jimmy  was  the  cause.  What  in  the  world  had 
she  found  to  interest  her  in  Aden?  Besides,  it 
smelled  abominably.  She  had  no  business  to  be 
wandering  about  it  alone. 

Duffy  went  down  to  the  calaboose  where  Yen  San, 
with  all  the  artist's  care,  was  preparing  dinner,  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  the  port  at  all. 

"Me  know  him  velly  little,"  said  Yen  San.  "Him 
velly  much  one  stinking  hole." 

"Yes.    Miss  Jimmy's  gone  ashore,"  said  Duffy. 

Yen  San  looked  wise. 

"Along  no  fella  boy?" 

"Nope,"  said  Duffy  shortly. 

"You'mgofindher?" 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  119 

"Yep — I  think  so.  Will  you  keep  dinner  hot  for 
us?" 

Yen  San  nodded. 

"And  no  need  to  tell  the  Captain  where  I  am. 
Tell  him  I've  gone  fishing,  if  he  asks  you,  but  he 
won't,"  said  Duffy.  He  felt  slightly  ashamed  of 
himself  for  not  being  able  to  share  Honest  Pig's 
optimistic  belief  in  his  daughter's  ability  to  look 
after  herself.  He  fetched  Gilbert  and  some  am- 
munition from  his  cabin  and  went  ashore  by  the 
gangway. 

The  swift  twilight  of  the  tropics  turned  into 
starlit  night  almost  as  Duffy  placed  his  foot  on  the 
jetty,  and  he  blessed  the  gathering  darkness  that 
hid  him  from  the  watch.  He  stumbled  a  little  on 
the  firm  ground  after  his  weeks  at  sea.  It  was  an- 
noyingly  steady,  but  by  adopting  a  slightly  rolling 
walk  he  managed  to  counterbalance  the  effect. 

Almost  instinctively  Duffy  turned  from  the 
broader  streets  of  the  European  quarter  and  made 
his  way  into  the  narrower,  darker  alleys  of  the 
native  town.  Jimmy  would  not  hanker  for  the 
European.  The  alleys  seemed  full  of  shadows,  and 
the  low,  crooked  houses  leaned  inwards  upon  him. 

It  was  Duffy's  first  experience  of  an  Eastern  city, 
and  it  did  not  impress  him  very  much.  There  was 


120       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

little  of  the  picturesque  to  be  seen,  even  in  the  star- 
light, but  what  there  was  smelled  horrible.  One  or 
two  dark  figures  slouched  past  Duffy,  others  slipped 
in  and  out  of  doorways  and  passages,  and  once  a 
scream  shattered  the  night  air — he  caught  his  breath 
and  slid  his  hand  round  to  his  hip  pocket,  then  re- 
laxed as  he  realized  it  was  a  man's  scream. 

The  winding  street  was  lit  occasionally  by  shafts 
of  yellow  light  on  the  cobbles  from  open  doorways. 
Duffy  was  beginning  to  wonder  how  he  was  going  to 
find  Jimmy  in  this  jumbled  warren  of  buildings. 
There  seemed  so  many  of  them,  and  they  all 
promised  lurking,  knife-armed  shadows  behind  the 
doors.  Even  a  hardened  adventurer  with  an  expert 
draw  does  not  rush  blindly  into  every  hornet's  nest, 
so  Duffy  may  be  forgiven  for  being  circum- 
spect. 

Presently  the  main  street  widened  and  the  lights 
became  more  frequent,  while  from  the  increasing 
number  of  natives  Duffy  surmised  that  he  was  com- 
ing to  the  scene  of  Aden's  night  life.  Bazaars  and 
shops  took  the  place  of  habitations  and  he  strolled 
unconcernedly  down  the  middle  of  them  with  his 
yachting  cap  on  the  back  of  his  head.  It  did  not 
occur  to  him  that  he  was  the  only  white  man  in  that 
part  of  Aden.  The  white  men  who  had  stewed  in 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  121 

Aden  any  while  had  learned  to  avoid  it  after  dark. 
It  was  unhealthy. 

Outside  the  biggest,  brightest  and  noisiest  of  the 
bazaars,  Duffy  halted  and  looked  at  it.  Then  he 
walked  into  it  with  an  air  of  quiet  interest  and  an 
eagle  eye  for  Jimmy.  Men  stared  at  him  with 
curious  and  none  too  affectionate  glances.  It  was 
a  good  demonstration  of  the  strange  but  well 
authenticated  fact  that  a  man  can  go  among  the 
wildest  of  wild  animals  with  a  fair  chance  of  im- 
munity provided  he  not  only  shows,  but  also  feels, 
no  fear.  Duffy  did  not  feel  afraid,  because  he  did 
not  know  there  was  anything  to  be  afraid  of. 

For  the  same  reason  Jimmy  played  fan-tan  in  a 
far  but  interested  corner  with  no  other  thought  than 
to  add  to  the  little  pile  of  winnings  that  were  heaped 
on  the  table  before  her.  As  Duffy  reached  the 
center  of  the  bazaar  under  the  solitary  lamp,  in  the 
middle  of  a  jostle  of  brown,  evil-smelling  bodies,  she 
laughed  a  clear,  ringing  laugh  of  extreme  pleasure. 
She  had  won  a  big  stake. 

Duffy  heard  the  laugh  and  made  a  slow  and  diffi- 
cult way  towards  it;  she  certainly  had  no  business 
to  be  here.  The  brown  bodies  seemed  to  become 
ever  thicker  and  their  smell  even  more  evil.  Within 
twelve  feet  of  the  table  Duffy  came  up  against  the 


122        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

outer  fringe  of  interested  spectators.  He  wedged 
himself  between  them  and  began  pushing  his  way 
gently  through. 

Jimmy  laughed  again  the  clear,  ringing  laugh  of 
a  happy  child  as  he  came  to  the  inner  fringe  of 
brown,  evil-smelling  bodies. 

He  was  beginning  to  scowl  at  the  thought  of  Jim- 
my's foolishness.  Also  he  felt  she  had  got  an  illicit 
adventure  ahead  of  him.  Actually  he  had  arrived 
in  time  to  draw  level. 

The  opportunity  came  in  the  sound  of  a  sudden 
scurry  and  the  swaying  of  the  interested  spectators. 
Then  a  cry  from  Jimmy. 

"Hands  off  it,  you  scum.  My  God,  if  I  had  my 
Colt!" 

Duffy  thrust  his  head  between  two  brown,  greasy 
shoulders  with  a  butt  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  a  ram,  and  he  saw  Jimmy  with  both  hands  cover- 
ing her  pile  of  money — a  brown  hand  pulling  at  them. 

Then  there  was  a  glitter  against  the  dark  back- 
ground, as  a  wicked-looking  knife  slashed  down  and 
stuck,  quivering,  a  brown  hand  grasping  its  shaft. 
It  seemed  to  have  pinned  one  of  the  slim,  white 
hands  to  the  table. 

Shouting  incoherent,  stuttering  words,  gazing 
through  a  red  mist,  but  cool — deadly  cool — Duffy 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  123 

sent  a  bullet  through  the  brown  hand  and  snapped 
his  teeth  with  satisfaction  as  he  saw  the  blood  spurt 
from  it.  A  man  on  the  other  side  of  the  table  top- 
pled forward — two  casualties  with  one  bullet;  not 
a  bad  beginning. 

A  howl  of  agony  came  swiftly  upon  Gilbert's  vi- 
cious crack,  and  then — pandemonium.  A  hundred 
yells  and  a  savage  roar  that  promised  death,  a  vision 
of  glistening,  rage-filled  eyes  on  every  side,  and 
Duffy  put  a  bullet  between  a  pair  of  the  nearest. 
Then  he  jumped  for  Jimmy's  side,  caught  her  up — 
the  knife  still  buried  deep  in  the  table  while  a  thin 
trickle  of  blood  ran  across  the  white  hand. 

The  owner  of  the  knife  sat  on  the  floor  and 
screamed,  waggling  his  shattered  fingers. 

Duffy  put  a  bullet  through  the  chest  of  a  man 
who  rushed  at  him  with  a  stool,  while  with  a  second 
he  smashed  the  hanging  lamp  into  a  splintering  ruin, 
and  plunged  the  bazaar  into  Stygian  blackness.  He 
held  Jimmy  by  the  arm. 

"Are  you  badly  hurt?"  he  asked  quickly.  The 
mist  was  clearing  from  his  eyes.  He  was  beginning 
to  realize  what  had  been  happening. 

"No,"  said  Jimmy,  "only  cut  the  skin." 

"Thank  heavens!"  he  said.  "Come  on.  We've 
got  to  get  out  of  this!" 


124       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"My  boots!" 

"Your  what?"  He  had  to  shout  above  the  volume 
of  yelling. 

"My  suede  boots;  they're  under  this  chair,  some- 
where," said  Jimmy  in  his  ear. 

Duffy  groped  and  found  a  parcel. 

"Here,  catch  hold.  I  shall  want  both  hands,"  he 
said  quickly,  and  still  holding  Jimmy  in  a  firm  grasp, 
steered  her  to  the  nearest  wall.  It  was  built  of 
flimsy  mud  and  straw,  and  with  a  few  hearty  kicks 
with  his  heel,  he  managed  to  make  a  hole  large 
enough  for  them  to  crawl  through.  He  went  first, 
stood  upright,  took  three  cautious  steps  forward  in 
the  darkness,  and  fetched  up  against  a  wall.  He 
was  in  a  passage,  and  he  turned  to  call  Jimmy.  He 
found  her  by  his  side. 

"Where  are  we?"  she  asked. 

"The  Lord  knows;  I  don't,"  he  answered.  "But 
we  may  as  well  try  and  find  out." 

First  he  hitched  Jimmy's  parcel  by  its  string  to  a 
hook  on  his  belt,  then  he  led  the  way  down  the 
passage  in  the  direction  of  the  street,  from  which 
came  the  confused  shouting  of  most  of  the  male 
population  of  the  native  quarter.  They  had  gath- 
ered for  entertainment. 

Half-way  down  the  passage  Duffy  stumbled  over 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  125 

a  round  object  that  rolled  at  his  feet;  he  picked  it 
up.  It  was  a  round,  earthenware  water  bottle.  At 
the  end  of  the  passage  they  came  to  a  rickety, 
leather-hinged  door. 

"Now,"  said  Duffy,  in  an  adventurer's  whisper, 
and  he  gave  Jimmy  the  water  bottle. 

"Hold  it  by  its  neck.  You  may  need  it."  Then 
he  filled  Gilbert's  magazine  with  extreme  care  and 
opened  the  door.  They  were  in  the  middle  of  a 
howling,  shouting  mob. 

For  the  first  few  yards  not  one  of  the  brown, 
evil-smelling  seekers  after  entertainment  saw  them, 
and  Duffy  led  the  way  down  the  side  of  the  street 
in  the  direction  of  the  jetty.  Jimmy  edged  up  to 
him  and  held  his  hand  with  her  right;  in  her  left  she 
firmly  grasped  the  narrow  neck  of  the  water  bottle. 

Then  their  white  clothes  in  a  crowd,  which,  if  it 
wore  any  clothes  at  all,  wore  the  less  immaculate 
shades,  gave  them  away.  A  howl  of  greater  unison 
broke  out  behind  them,  and  Duffy  took  frankly  to 
his  heels.  Jimmy  ran  easily  by  his  side,  still  holding 
his  hand.  They  tore  as  hard  as  they  could  lick 
down  the  darkness  of  the  main  street,  a  patter  of 
bare  feet  behind  them. 

At  the  end  of  fifty  yards  Duffy  bethought  himself 
of  his  role  of  adventurer,  scowled  heavily,  turned 


126        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

and  put  five  shots  into  the  darkness.  Two  howls 
of  surprised  agony  answered  his  effort.  The  patter- 
ing feet  sounded  less  insistent,  and  hand  in  hand  the 
adventurers  continued  their  exhilarating  race — they 
found  themselves  laughing  as  they  ran. 

At  the  point  where  the  narrower  turning  that  led 
to  the  jetty  ran  into  the  main  street,  they  stopped 
and  listened. 

One  pair  of  feet  held  the  trail  with  a  determined 
patter,  and  back  by  the  bazaar  the  seekers  after 
entertainment  still  howled  lustily. 

"Quick,  Jimmy;  give  me  the  water  bottle  and 
run  for  'The  Rose.'  I'll  fix  this  chap,"  said  Duffy. 
"I  don't  want  to  shoot;  it  will  bring  them  all  down 
on  us." 

"I'm  going  to  help  fix  him,"  said  Jimmy. 

"You're  not.  You're  going  back  to  'The  Rose.' 
It  will  take  less  time  for  one  to  get  from  here  to  the 
boat  at  the  last  minute  than  two.  I  expect  there 
are  others  behind  this  chap,  but  if  I  settle  him  it 
ought  to  give  me  time  to  get  to  'The  Rose'  without 
being  spotted.  We  don't  want  them  to  know  where 
we  come  from.  This  is  a  mad  enough  business  and 
we  don't  want  to  prolong  it." 

Jimmy  hesitated,  started  to  object,  then  handed 
over  the  water  bottle  and  started  off  for  the  jetty. 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  127 

Duffy  took  up  a  strategetic  position  under  the  over- 
hanging eaves  of  a  house  and,  gripping  the  water 
bottle,  waited  for  the  follower. 

He  came  noisily  and  blowing  through  his  teeth; 
the  starlight  showed  up  his  figure. 

Duffy  stepped  swiftly  out  of  the  shadows  and  flung 
the  water  bottle  into  the  stomach  of  this  more  per- 
sistent seeker  after  entertainment,  as  though  the 
poor  man  had  not  lost  sufficient  wind  already.  With 
what  he  had  left,  however,  he  gave  a  short  howl  and 
collapsed  in  the  gutter. 

Duffy  turned  at  once  and  swung  round  the  corner. 
He  made  hell-for-leather  for  "The  Rose." 

At  this  point  a  new  factor  introduced  itself,  with 
no  invitation  whatever,  into  the  adventure  which 
had  begun  so  calmly,  so  serenely,  and  which  was 
culminating  into  the  wildest  and  most  exciting  of  all 
the  wild  and  exciting  things  that  Duffy  had  as  yet 
had  the  luck  to  fall  into. 

The  alley  to  the  jetty  was  a  path  of  moonlit  cob- 
blestones, flanked  on  either  side  by  the  blackest  of 
shadows,  and  between  these  and  down  the  path  Duffy 
fled  for  the  safety  of  "The  Rose,"  just  as  Jimmy 
had  done  a  few  moments  before — or  should  have 
done. 

Duffy  must  have  reached  the  half-way  point  of 


128        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

this  alley  when  he  saw  the  last  thing  in  the  world 
he  wanted  to  see  just  then — he  saw  Jimmy. 

She  had  stopped  on  the  edge  of  the  shadows;  and 
with  her  head  bent,  was  feeling  and  groping  in  front 
of  her.  Duffy  saw  the  gleam  of  her  white  clothes 
and  ran  up  to  her.  Also  he  said  "damn"  between 
his  teeth  and  cast  a  quick  look  behind  him.  As  yet 
the  entrance  to  the  alley  was  empty,  but  for  how 
long? 

"What  is  it?"  he  said  impatiently.  "We've  no 
time  to  stop!" 

"It's  a  cat,"  said  Jimmy.  "It  jumped  out  in 
front  of  me  as  I  ran,  and  I  kicked  it.  I  couldn't 
help  it.  As  it  was,  it  nearly  brought  me  down." 

"Damn  the  cat!"  said  Duffy,  and  wondered  at  the 
same  time  why  in  the  world,  when  she  had  all  the 
hardening  effect  of  a  hard  training  to  her  credit,  she 
should  stop  at  this  highly  crucial  moment  to  search 
for  a  cat  she  had  banged  into  by  accident.  It  was 
entirely  beyond  him. 

Jimmy  straightened  herself. 

"Damn  the  cat  as  much  as  you  choose,  Duffy,  but 
I'm  going  to  find  it." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it?" 

"I  want  to  see  that  it  isn't  very  much  hurt." 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  129 

"It's  an  Eastern  cat;  you  can't  hurt  an  Eastern 
cat;  it's  used  to  it,"  said  Duffy.  "Come  onl" 

"I  am  going  to  find  that  cat."  There  was  a  note 
of  finality  in  her  voice. 

Duffy,  furious  and  enraged  at  this  unadventurous 
if  human  waste  of  time,  gave  another  look  in  the 
direction  of  the  town,  and  then  began  groping  in  the 
dark  with  her. 

The  cat  refused  to  show  itself.  Duffy  crowed 
and  crooned  and  made  squeaky  voices  with  his  lips; 
again  he  cursed  the  whole  business;  again  and  again 
he  urged  Jimmy  to  buck  up  and  cease  increasing  the 
risk  that  would  drag  them  both  into  a  far  more 
serious  trouble  than  ever  the  cat  would  experience 
in  the  whole  length  of  however  many  lives  it  had 
left. 

But  she  took  no  notice  of  him,  save  to  give  him 
the  parcel  containing  the  boots,  that  she  might  grope 
the  better. 

Then,  just  as  the  last  shred  of  Duffy's  patience 
was  about  to  disappear  in  incoherent  ravings,  some- 
thing caught  his  eye,  and  he  swung  round. 

A  small,  angular  kitten  was  standing,  with  a  tail 
that  challenged  the  straightness  of  the  straightest 
poker,  in  the  middle  of  the  moon  path;  regarding 


130        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

their  efforts  with  what  seemed  to  Duffy  to  be  ill- 
concealed  amusement. 

"Here  it  is!"  he  said.  "Thank  heavens!  We 
may  still  have  time ! " 

He  reached  down  and  caught  up  the  kitten,  seized 
Jimmy  by  the  arm,  and  started  once  more  for  the 
jetty.  He  could  not  have  told  you  why  he  picked 
up  the  kitten,  unless  perhaps  he  realized  that  if  the 
kitten  came  so  would  Jimmy. 

"All  right! "  said  Jimmy.  "I  can  manage."  And 
she  moved  her  arm  out  of  Duffy's  hustling  clutch. 
She  had  been  dependent  enough  for  one  night. 

"Come  on,  then!"    And  side  by  side  they  ran  on. 

At  the  end  of  thirty  yards  a  shrill  cry  came  from 
behind.  Duffy  turned  in  his  run  and  saw  a  robed 
figure  that  waved  a  glittering  sword,  and  bore  down 
on  them  at  a  pace  they  never  could  have  beaten. 

"I  knew  it!  I  knew  it! "  snarled  Duffy.  "Here! 
take  the  animal  and  carry  on!"  And  he  almost 
flung  the  cause  of  this  bungled  end  of  the  adventure 
at  her.  What  the  kitten  felt  about  it  all  is  not  really 
of  great  importance,  since  it  ought  to  have  had 
better  sense  and  better  manners  than  to  have  inter- 
fered in  the  first  place;  we  will  dismiss  it  for  the 
moment,  therefore,  with  the  single  observation  that 
it  yowled  in  a  thoroughly  Eastern  and  dismal  way. 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  131 

Jimmy  caught  it  and  "carried  on."  She  did  not 
stop  to  argue  with  Duffy  this  second  time.  She  felt 
that  she  was  more  or  less  to  blame  for  the  situation 
and  furthermore  that  he  could  be  trusted  to  deal 
with  this  later  development  by  himself. 

He  did — most  expertly. 

The  native  saw  him  stop,  and  his  shrill  shouting 
became  more  shrilly  triumphant.  If  he  had  been 
an  observant  man,  he  would  have  advanced  more 
cautiously;  but  he  was  not,  so  he  did  not  see  the 
wicked  glitter  in  Duffy's  right  hand. 

Duffy  waited,  almost  patiently,  for  the  swords- 
man to  come  within  a  range  that  would  ensure  that 
Gilbert's  efficiency  be  supported  by  absolute  accur- 
acy on  his  part.  The  brightness  of  the  moonlight 
and  the  brightness  of  the  target  at  which  he  had  to 
shoot,  made  it  a  comparatively  easy  matter.  In- 
deed, he  felt  at  that  moment  that  it  was  too  easy,  and 
a  certain  compunction  for  the  nearing  avenger 
crossed  his  mind. 

It  did  not,  however,  prevent  him  from  placing  a 
bullet  with  extraordinary  neatness  in  the  exact  cen- 
ter of  the  avenger's  chest. 

The  range  could  not  have  been  above  fifteen  yards, 
and  the  bullet  came  to  the  man  in  the  middle  of  a 
more  than  usually  enthusiastic  bound  with  a  force 


132        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

that  checked  him  with  a  horrible  jar,  toppling  him 
head  over  heels  onto  the  cobbles  with  a  rasping 
choke  that  rang  horridly  in  Duffy's  ears.  It  was 
very  unpleasant,  and  he  cursed  the  position  in  which 
he  had  been  placed  that  made  the  killing  a  necessity. 

He  said  "damn"  again,  and  again  it  was  between 
his  teeth. 

Then  swiftly  he  rolled  the  body  into  the  shadows, 
and  keeping  well  within  their  shelter,  made  for  "The 
Rose." 

Here  I  think  I  might  insert  an  accurate  if  ironic 
detail. 

Duffy  could  not  have  covered  half  the  distance 
between  the  scene  of  the  delay  and  the  boat  when 
a  mangy,  limping,  highly  unbeautiful  cat — no  kitten, 
mark  you — walked  a  little  painfully  across  the  path 
in  the  moonlight,  and  inspected  the  dead  avenger 
in  the  shadows.  Whether  it  was  that  the  cat  did 
not  like  the  smell  of  his  dead  but  fellow-townsman, 
or  he  was  still  very  bad-tempered  and  sore  as  the 
result  of  his  meeting  with  Jimmy  in  full  flight,  I  do 
not  know;  but  he  spat  with  extreme  distaste  and 
stalked,  still  painfully,  in  the  direction  of  a  more 
inhabited  part  of  Aden  and  what  vague  sympathy 
he  might  hope  to  find  there. 

And  so  it  was  that  the  kitten,  which  was  lapping 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  133 

so  gratefully  at  a  plate  of  soup  on  the  cabin  floor 
when  Duffy  walked  in  serenely  and  sedately  a  min- 
ute and  a  half  later,  had  no  earthly  claim  to  the  un- 
expected adventure  that  had  befallen  him  beyond 
the  fact  that  he  had  been  prowling  peacefully  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  it  at  that  particular 
moment. 

Thus  can  Fate  fall  upon  the  even  course  of  a  life 
and  change  it  utterly;  so  did  it  strike  the  surprised 
mind  of  the  kitten.  Later,  the  same  evening,  also, 
it  struck  Duffy,  but  rather  less  mercifully. 

Immediately  he  reached  the  cabin  he  was  con- 
scious of  an  impending  "something."  He  could  not 
define  it,  and  he  went  warily  at  first;  all  his  senses 
keen  and  eager. 

"Sorry  I'm  late,"  he  said,  and  following  his  usual 
precept  that  explanation  is  not  an  adventurer's 
policy,  he  seated  himself.  He  would  "let  the  other 
chap  do  the  talking." 

Honest  Pig  looked  at  Duffy  with  suspicious  eyes. 
He  stuck  out  his  jaw — then  he  looked  with  equally 
suspicious  eyes  at  his  daughter.  She  was  flushed 
and  breathing  a  little  hard.  Then  he  looked  at  the 
kitten,  who  was  more  innocent  of  air  than  either  of 
its  fellow  adventurers. 


134        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"What  the  devil  have  you  two  been  up  to?"  said 
Honest  Pig. 

"Buying  boots,"  said  Duffy  instantly,  and  waved 
the  parcel  in  the  air. 

"Do  you  usually  run  when  you  buy  boots?"  asked 
Honest  Pig,  with  a  glance  at  Jimmy's  face. 

"Chilly  night,"  said  Duffy.  "Sprinted  the  last 
hundred  yards." 

"Dam'  hot  night.    Who  won?" 

"I  did,"  answered  Duffy,  with  extreme  prompt- 
ness, but  if  he  had  not  been  so  eager  to  win  he 
might  have  thought,  and  had  he  thought  he  would 
not  have  fallen  into  the  trap. 

"Then  why  did  Jimmy  come  down  to  dinner 
first?"  asked  Honest  Pig,  in  a  tone  that  showed  he 
had  vindicated  his  suspicions. 

"Now,  tell  me  what  you've  been  doing!"  he 
shouted,  and  banged  the  table  with  both  fists.  "I 
heard  a  shot  just  now.  What  does  all  this  mean?" 

Duffy  had  been  feeling  during  this  last  cross-ques- 
tioning that  Honest  Pig  should  be  told  exactly  why 
Jimmy  ought  not  to  be  allowed  ashore  by  herself  in 
these  sort  of  places.  After  all,  adventuring  was  not 
a  girl's  job.  He  saw  that  these  particular  incidents 
were  the  sort  of  things  that  might  happen  at  any 
time,  and  if  the  important  quest  on  which  he  had 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  135 

sailed  was  to  be  jeopardized  by  the  likelihood  of 
others,  then  the  sooner  it  was  put  a  stop  to  the  bet- 
ter. Therefore  he  told  the  whole  story  with  an 
exactness  of  detail  that  must  have  showed  him  as  a 
master  of  the  art  of  story-telling.  To  his  accurate 
shooting  he  made  but  a  passing  allusion;  Mr. 
Weames  was  still  in  ignorance  of  it,  and  the  time 
had  not  come  for  his  enlightenment. 

Jimmy,  at  the  beginning  of  the  story,  looked 
across  at  him  with  a  look  that  would  have  withered 
a  less  conscientious  soul.  Scorn,  surprise  and  in- 
effable contempt  were  admirably  mingled  in  that 
look,  and  Duffy  felt  his  heart  twist  a  little,  but  with 
a  stern  will  he  bade  it  be  quiet.  He  must  place  this 
source  of  adventure  beyond  the  chance  of  breaking 
out  afresh;  Mr.  Weames  as  a  source  of  adventure 
was  another  matter. 

Half-way  through  the  recital  Jimmy  rose  and 
went  into  her  cabin  for  a  moment,  returning  with  a 
clean  handkerchief,  which  she  wound  round  the 
finger  that  the  knife  had  grazed.  Again  she  looked 
at  Duffy  with  the  same  look,  only  in  this,  perhaps, 
the  contempt  was  more  virulent  than  before. 

At  the  end  of  the  story,  after  a  moment's  silence, 
Honest  Pig  said  in  a  voice  that  forbade  argument: 

"Jimmy,  I  forbid  you  to  go  ashore  by  yourself 


136        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

again.  If  you  want  to  go,  I'm  sure  Duffy  will  go 
with  you.  He  seems  quite  capable  of  looking  after 
you." 

"Very  well,  Daddy,"  she  replied  in  a  perfectly 
murderous  voice.  "I — I "  and  she  stopped. 

Then  Honest  Pig  laughed.  He  laughed  till  he 
cried,  and  he  finally  lay  on  the  cushioned  seat  that 
he  might  laugh  with  more  ease.  For  the  second 
time  that  night  the  kitten  received  the  shock  of  its 
young  life — the  noise  was  ear-splitting. 

Duffy  smiled  a  little  wanly;  he  felt  rather  than 
saw  the  burning  flush  of  shame  and  rage  on  Jimmy's 
face,  for  she  kept  it  averted.  Mr.  Weames  also 
laughed;  Jimmy  went  white. 

After  dinner  she  went  on  deck,  and  Duffy  fol- 
lowed her.  At  the  rail  he  caught  her  up;  he  wanted 
to  explain.  Explain! 

"Jimmy "  he  began,  but  the  way  she  turned 

on  him  silenced  him.  She  leaned  back  against  the 
rail  and  her  wrath  was  sublime;  in  it  all  her  savage 
beauty  was  aflame.  Her  father  had  laughed  at  her! 

"You're  a  sneak,  a  dirty  little  sneak,  Duffy," 
she  said  in  a  voice  of  biting  contempt.  "I  disliked 
you  when  I  first  saw  you,  but  God  knows  I  couldn't 
dislike  and  hate  you  more  than  I  do  now.  I  hate 
you,  d'you  hear?  I  hate  you!" 


PISTOL  PRACTICE  137 

And  she  brought  her  hand  down  across  his  face 
with  a  ringing  slap,  and  thus  did  Duffy,  the  adven- 
turer, lose  a  friend. 

It  was  just  as  well  for  the  kitten  that  it  retired 
early  to  a  comfortable  nook  in  the  corner  of  the 
deck-house.  Duffy  would  not  have  been  pleasant  to 
meet  that  night. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER 

DUFFY  derived  very  little  satisfaction  from  his  con- 
scientious effort  to  see  that  his  mission  should  not 
be  impeded  by  side  issues,  however  adventurous. 
He  began  to  understand  why  that  rough  but  long- 
suffering  father,  Honest  Pig,  so  often  referred  to 
his  daughter  as  "the  little  devil."  She  was  a  little 
devil. 

The  first  few  days  after  her  frank  expression  of 
feeling  Duffy  spent  in  vain  endeavor  to  persuade 
himself  that  he  had  acted  solely  for  the  best  and  that 
he  was  wrong  in  thinking  the  result  bad.  He  ac- 
cused himself  of  allowing  his  heart  to  rule  his  head, 
a  thing  an  adventurer  never  permits;  but  all  the 
endeavor  in  the  world  would  not  convince  him  that 
that  result  was  not  only  bad  but  beastly. 

The  round  of  their  life,  for  all  its  vast  setting,  was 
limited  to  the  narrow  confines  of  "The  Rose,"  but 
those  confines  were  not  too  narrow  for  Jimmy's  sur- 
prising ability  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  Duffy. 
The  fact  that  he  had  saved  her  from  a  very  nasty 

138 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  139 

situation  counted  as  nothing  against  the  unpardon- 
able crime  of  telling  her  father  how  she  had  got 
into  it  and  how  he  had  got  her  out,  adding  to  it  all 
the  suggestion  that  she  ought  not  to  be  allowed 
ashore  alone  in  future.  And  when  her  father  at  once 
placed  Duffy  in  the  position  of  cavalier,  then  laughed 
till  he  cried  at  the  whole  thing  and  his  daughter  in 
particular,  the  finishing  touch  was  complete.  She 
told  herself  she  was  through  with  Duffy,  his  adven- 
turous instincts  and  his  horn-rimmed  spectacles. 
Why,  those  alone  ought  to  have  warned  her  against 
him  in  the  beginning. 

So  Duffy,  in  spite  of  his  hardened  adventurous- 
ness,  was  not  a  little  unhappy,  for  now  that  he  was 
barred  Jimmy's  company  and  friendship,  he  appre- 
ciated to  the  full  what  they  had  meant  to  him. 

He  spent  much  of  his  time  with  Yen  San  and  the 
rest  with  Honest  Pig;  Yen  San  was  very  wise  and 
therefore  could  not  understand  why  Duffy  should 
worry  himself  about  such  an  insufficient  thing  as  a 
girl,  while  Honest  Pig  watched  the  state  of  affairs 
with  an  amused  but  unsympathetic  smile. 

The  only  third  person  who  was  really  affected  was 
Mr.  Weames,  whose  surliness  disappeared  in  an 
almost  benign  joviality.  He  took  to  wearing  white 


i4o       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

duck  and  parting  his  mouse-colored  hair.  Also  he 
endeavored  to  watch  the  sunsets  with  Jimmy. 

To  Honest  Pig's  comments  on  these  portents, 
Duffy  replied  with  an  elaborate  disinterestedness  that 
by  its  very  elaborateness  rang  false.  Honest  Pig 
continued  to  smile,  while  Duffy  adopted  a  permanent 
scowl  and  cleaned  and  oiled  Elizabeth  and  Gilbert 
with  heavy  frequency.  When  he  could  manage  it 
without  attracting  the  attention  of  Mr.  Weames,  he 
practised  hard  with  them.  His  opportunities  in- 
creased as  Mr.  Weames'  attention  became  more  and 
more  absorbed  in  his  captain's  daughter. 

At  times  Duffy  felt,  with  no  shame  to  his  adven- 
turer's heart,  a  strong  inclination  to  destroy  the 
source  of  promised  adventure,  at  others  he  took  him- 
self severely  to  task  for  allowing  the  calm,  serene, 
collected,  dispassionate  mind  of  a  hardened  adven- 
turer to  be  perturbed  by  the  coldness  of  a  mere  girl 
towards  it  and  all  else  connected  with  it.  He  tried  to 
let  Yen  San  convince  him. 

"Women,"  said  the  wise  Yen  San.  "Women! 
.  .  ."  and  he  would  gaze  meditatively  at  the  blue 
sea  through  the  calaboose  port.  "They  play,  and 
are  to  be  played  with — toys." 

He  sounded  very  wise,  but  Duffy  could  not  con- 
ceive Yen  San  or  anybody  else  with  five  times  the 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  141 

wisdom  playing  with  Jimmy,  unless  it  was  to  in- 
crease that  wisdom.  They  might  do  that. 

No;  to  the  first  part  of  Yen  San's  wisdom:  "they 
play,"  Duffy  attached  some  importance.  It  may 
have  been  his  will  to  believe,  but  he  thought  it  quite 
likely  that  Jimmy  was  playing  with  Mr.  Weames. 
Poor  Mr.  Weames;  he  did  not  look  very  strong. 

It  was  one  afternoon  in  the  chart-house  during 
this  unhappy  state  of  things,  that  Duffy  discovered 
that  Honest  Pig  kept  the  directions  for  finding  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus  in  his  cash  box,  a  flimsy 
affair. 

"Do  you  think  they're  safe  there?"  asked  Duffy. 

"Safe  as  they  would  be  anywhere  else,"  said 
Honest  Pig,  carelessly.  "But  I  don't  see  who  wants 
to  collar  them.  They  wouldn't  be  any  use  to  any- 
body without  a  ship  to  take  the  stuff  away  when 
they  found  it.  There's  only  one  ship  about,  and 
that's  mine!" 

Duffy  did  not  tell  Honest  Pig  that  he  had  a  copy 
of  the  directions;  it  seemed  quite  an  unnecessary 
advertisement. 

"As  you  say,"  he  agreed,  "it's  your  ship." 

"Glad  some  one  recognizes  it,"  said  Honest  Pig. 
"I  begin  to  doubt  it  myself  sometimes  with  some 
of  these  wharf  rats  I've  managed  to  ship  this  voyage. 


142        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Lot  of  lazy,  impudent  swabs,  that's  what  they  are. 
In  the  good  old  days  I  could  have  kicked  a  little 
ginger  into  their  dam'  thick  heads.  These  dam' 
Unions  won't  let  you  run  your  own  ship  now!" 

Duffy  was  glad  he  had  not  been  a  deck-hand  in 
the  good  old  days.  Honest  Pig  wore  elevens  to 
boot  his  mass  of  burly,  muscle-bound  carcass. 

"You  manage  pretty  well,"  said  Duffy  soothingly. 

"Yes,  and  I  should  manage  a  good  deal  better 
if  I  hadn't  such  a  gink  of  a  mate.  That  man  ought 
never  to  have  left  'The  Horse  and  Cat,'  or  wherever 
he  served  his  whisky-sodden  apprenticeship,"  re- 
torted Honest  Pig.  He  was  in  an  unbeautiful  mood. 

"You  don't  mind  his  palling  up  with  Jimmy," 
answered  Duffy,  forgetting  that  he  had  not  noticed 
it. 

"Jimmy  can  look  after  herself,"  said  Honest  Pig. 

"As  she  did  in  Aden?"  Duffy  could  not  resist 
the  shaft,  since  he  could  not  forget  that  Honest  Pig's 
remark  before  that  ill-fated  episode  had  been  to 
much  the  same  effect. 

Honest  Pig  grunted  after  the  manner  of  his  kind, 
and  took  down  a  chart,  while  Duffy  opened  his  "Ele- 
mentary Navigation."  The  matter  was  closed. 

Day  after  night,  night  after  day,  "The  Rose" 
chugged  her  steady,  China  way  across  a  steamy  blue 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  143 

ocean  under  the  tropical  sun,  or  under  a  matted 
spangle  of  stars  and  a  serene  moon  at  night.  Duffy 
grew  and  thrived  in  the  thrall  of  it,  his  nature  ex- 
panding in  the  expanse  that  nature  showed  him. 
This  was  the  life  he  had  visioned  in  the  close  print 
of  many  a  "Dalkeith  Adventure  Novel"  so  keenly, 
and  at  last,  as  he  had  always  dreamed,  he  was  living 
it,  a  part  of  it,  his  home  in  it.  More  and  more  he 
felt  the  adventurer  he  had  always  known  himself  to 
be,  more  and  more  remote  were  the  days  when  that 
knowledge  was  theory,  and  when  he  imparted  it  to  a 
disbelieving  Madeleine.  True,  his  attempt  at  bring- 
ing it  into  practice  with  Jimmy  had  failed  in  some 
ways,  but  she,  at  all  events,  needed  no  convincing  of 
its  reality. 

She  could  not  forget  that  attempt — nor  could  she 
forget  Duffy's  part  in  it,  however  much  she  told  her- 
self he  had  flung  away  all  the  praise  he  deserved. 
It  emphasized  Mr.  Weames  as  an  increasing  nuisance 
and  there  were  times  when  she  wished  sincerely  that 
some  one  would  hit  him  on  the  head  with  a  mallet 
again;  it  might  keep  him  in  his  bunk  for  a  while, 
and  give  her  a  breathing  space.  He  cloyed.  She 
even  caught  herself  wishing  that  Duffy  was  not  such 
a  dirty  little  sneak,  for  he  would  have  made  a  far 
pleasanter  companion.  But  it  could  not  be  helped; 


i44        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

he  was  a  dirty  little  sneak,  and  that  was  all  there 
was  to  it. 

Admittedly,  she  could  derive  a  certain  amount  of 
pleasure  from  the  torturing  of  Mr.  Weames  by  a 
constant  and  ever  inconstant  attitude  towards  him. 
She  drove  his  usually  all-conquering  soul  into  fre- 
quent states  of  frenzy,  but  even  the  most  womanly 
of  women,  and  Jimmy  had  much  of  the  woman  in 
her,  tires  eventually  of  that  absorbing  game.  And 
Mr.  Weames,  furious  in  his  all-conquering  soul  at 
being  played  with,  wanted  to  play  all  the  more. 

Jimmy  sickened  of  it  early.  She  found  she  could 
not  in  her  heart  of  hearts  work  up  any  real  en- 
thusiasm for  the  man  who  allows  a  girl  to  make  him 
dance  to  whatever  tune  she  plays.  Duffy,  on  the 
other  hand,  possessing  far  less  of  the  all-conquering 
soul  where  women  were  concerned  than  the  mate, 
had  offered  her  no  temptation  to  play  any  sort  of 
tunes  for  him  to  dance  to  save  that  of  an  easy,  good- 
fellowship.  And  since  that  tune  is  essentially  a  duet, 
she  had  had  to  dance  to  it  too. 

So  there  came  a  time  when  she  could  stick  this 
new  companion  no  longer.  On  two  successive  nights 
the  all-conquering  soul  of  Mr.  Weames  bade  him 
attempt  to  kiss  her;  which  it  should  have  known 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  145 

better  than  to  do,  but  success  on  former  occasions 
must  have  made  it  bold. 

The  first  time  was  in  a  romantic  setting  of  East- 
ern moonlight  with  a  faint  banjo  accompaniment 
from  the  distant  fo 'castle  deck,  and  the  all-conquer- 
ing soul  of  Mr.  Weames,  languishing  for  demonstra- 
tion, urged  him  to  kiss  her.  For  a  moment  what 
native  wisdom  the  mate  possessed  murmured  caution 
in  his  ear,  but  the  urge  was  too  insistent.  He  tried 
to  kiss  her  with  that  brave  air  of  condescension  that 
marks  the  all-conquering  soul. 

It  was  a  poor  try. 

In  the  first  place,  the  mate's  bearded,  liver-white 
face  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  approached  Jimmy's 
within  kissing  distance,  while  in  the  second,  Jimmy, 
affecting  not  to  notice  the  mate's  intention,  walked 
swiftly  to  the  companionway  and  down  it  into  the 
saloon. 

It  was  an  unsatisfactory  end  to  his  brave  effort 
and  Mr.  Weames  swore  to  the  moon  and  threw  a 
marlin-spike  in  the  direction  of  the  banjoist. 
Neither  gave  him  any  satisfaction;  the  banjo  took 
no  more  notice  than  did  the  moon. 

Jimmy,  on  entering  the  saloon,  bade  her  father 
"good  night,"  ignored  Duffy  carefully,  and  went  into 


i46        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

her  cabin,  where  she  decided  that  she  was  sick  of 
the  mate  and  damned  his  presumption  in  fitting  if 
unmaidenly  terms.  She  had  divined  the  urge  of  his 
all-conquering  soul. 

On  the  second  night,  Mr.  Weames  augmented  his 
courage  by  the  larger  part  of  a  bottle  of  whisky. 
This  also  permitted,  or  even  suggested,  that  he 
should  throw  an  affectionate  arm  round  Jimmy's 
slender  waist  and  thus  render  her  escape  impossible 
while  he  again  endeavored  to  press  his  lips  to  hers. 
Again  he  failed,  to  the  sorrow  and  rage  of  his  all- 
conquering  soul.  Jimmy  thrust  an  exceedingly 
sharp  elbow  into  the  pit  of  his  stomach  and  said: 
"Don't  be  a  fool,  Mr.  Weames.  You're  drunk!" 
The  mate  removed  his  arm  that  his  hand  might 
massage  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  and  said: 

"I'm  not  drunk.  What's  a  kiss,  hang  it  all?" 
"Too  much  from  you,"  said  Jimmy  brightly,  and 
went  down  into  the  cabin.  She  was  angry  with  her- 
self for  having  given  Mr.  Weames  the  impression 
that  he  could  even  think  of  kissing  her,  let  alone 
actually  attempting  it. 

Duffy  looked  up  from  his  "Navigation,"  which 
Honest  Pig  was  explaining  to  him,  and  noticed  the 
flush  on  her  cheeks.  He  cursed  Mr.  Weames  softly 
and  watched  her  enter  her  cabin.  Well,  her  love 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  147 

affairs,  since  she  no  longer  had  anything  to  do  with 
him,  were  entirely  her  own  business,  but  for  all  that 
he  allowed  himself  to  wonder  what  she  saw  in  the 
obviously  scoundrelly  mate. 

That  same  mate  leaned  over  the  rail  to  give  the 
pit  of  his  stomach  greater  ease,  and  cursed  Jimmy 
loudly  and  long.  He  was  not  used  to  this  sort  of 
love-making.  He  could  not,  from  the  depths  of  his 
all-conquering  soul,  understand  how  a  mere  chit  of 
a  girl  like  Jimmy  could  not  only  dispense  with  his 
caresses  but  even  repel  them,  and  that  with  unseemly 
violence.  He  would  kiss  her,  the  stuck-up  little 
minx!  Be  dam'  if  he  wouldn't! 

Jimmy,  for  all  that  her  experiences  did  not  in- 
clude that  of  a  mate  who  wanted  to  kiss  her,  knew 
instinctively  that  Mr.  Weames  would  not  remain 
content  with  a  pain  in  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  His 
all-conquering  soul  would  demand  amends,  and  no 
more  hanky-panky. 

Quite  frankly  the  mate  admitted  to  himself  that 
he  would  not  be  running  any  risks  if  it  were  not  that 
he  relied  upon  Jimmy's  independence  of  spirit.  He 
knew  she  went  to  Honest  Pig  for  nothing,  relying 
on  her  own  resource  for  everything.  If  she  did  not 
like  being  kissed  she  would  not  go  to  her  father  to 
explain  her  distaste — she  would  explain  it  herself, 


148        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

and  Mr.  Weames  could  trust  his  own  all-conquering 
soul  to  waive  that  explanation  and  overcome  the 
distaste. 

But  he  must  have  underestimated  her  resource. 

I  think  that  Jimmy  would  have  dealt  quite  as 
firmly  with  Mr.  Weames  as  she  did  in  any  case,  but 
Duffy  may  have  affected  it  by  his  effort  the  follow- 
ing morning. 

He  had  just  relinquished  the  wheel  with  some 
reluctance,  for  in  keeping  "The  Rose"  on  her  course 
he  found  an  outlet  for  his  romantic  energy;  an  en- 
ergy, incidentally,  which  Honest  Pig  watched  with 
an  eagle  eye;  when  Jimmy,  cool  and  refreshing  in 
the  sweltering  heat,  came  up  from  the  main  deck 
and  leaned  against  the  rail. 

She  watched  the  hands  sluicing  down  the  burning 
decks,  occasionally  offering  them  a  word  of  advice. 

Duffy  noticed  that  her  usually  unsullied  brow  was 
puckered  into  a  thoughtful  frown  and  that  she  had 
all  the  appearance  of  being  absorbed  in  some  inner 
conflict.  Indeed  so  absorbed  was  she  that  she  an- 
swered Duffy's  remark. 

"Is  it  going  to  get  any  hotter?"  he  asked. 

"If  it  does,  we  shall  fall  for  something  in  the  way 
of  a  storm,"  she  said.  Her  brow  was  still  thought- 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  149 

ful.  Then  the  frown  became  a  scowl  as  she  realized 
she  was  talking  to  the  dirty  little  sneak. 

She  turned  round  and  gazed  at  the  horizon,  while 
the  men  moved  along  to  an  unsluiced  part  of  the 
deck. 

"I  say/'  said  Duffy,  "that  chap  Weames  isn't  an- 
noying you,  is  he?" 

This  time  he  received  no  answer,  but  continual 
snubbing  had  hardened  his  finer  sensitiveness,  so  he 
continued: 

"If  you  feel  bad  about  it,  I  can  tell  him  off.  I 
don't  stand  by  and  see  people  bullied,  you  know," 
and  he  scowled  his  most  adventurous  scowl.  His 
remark,  when  one  looks  at  it,  was  fatuous  in  the 
extreme,  but  that  might  be  attributed  to  his  nervous- 
ness. He  was  making  overtures. 

Jimmy  growled  in  her  throat,  for  a  moment  hold- 
ing back  her  words,  then  she  said  slowly  to  the 
horizon: 

"If  you  don't  veer  off  this  'helpful'  tack,  I  shall 
have  you  thrown  overboard.  Mr.  Weames  would 
do  it  for  me — cheerfully,  Mr.  Duff."  She  still  con- 
templated the  far  horizon. 

Duffy  looked  at  the  slim  back. 

"Sure!"  he  said  unhappily.    "I'm  sorry."    And 


150       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

he  went  away  vainly  trying  to  convince  himself  that 
his  adventurous  heart  was  hardened  against  the  turn- 
ing of  a  slim  back.  He  felt  rather  helpless  against 
that  heart — and  the  back. 

But  this  had  a  deciding  effect  on  Jimmy.  It 
showed  her  that  other  people  had  noticed  the  work- 
ings of  Mr.  Weames'  all-conquering  soul  and  that  if 
it  worked  much  longer  they  would  be  laughing  at 
her.  Her  independence  was  at  stake  and  the  time 
was  at  hand  for  resource.  That  night  she  called  it 
to  her  aid. 

After  supper  she  went  on  deck  as  usual,  and  in 
the  bright  moonlight  awaited  the  inevitable  coming 
of  Mr.  Weames.  Ten  minutes  later  he  came,  brave 
and  bridling,  his  cautious  mind  convinced  by  a  gen- 
erous peg.  He  greeted  her  with  true  manliness. 

Duffy  had  watched  the  mate  fortifying  himself 
with  a  peg  of  whisky  unnecessarily  generous  for  such 
a  warm  night,  and  in  spite  of  his  decision  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  matter,  and  completely  dis- 
regarding Jimmy's  threat,  he  followed  Mr.  Weames 
at  a  sleuthful  distance  when  he  went  on  his  all-con- 
quering errand. 

By  the  time  he  reached  the  scene  of  action,  it  was 
well  started.  He  heard  Jimmy's  voice  clearly  in  the 
still  air. 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  151 

"Oh,  Mr.  Weames,  you  mustn't  really,  you  know 
you  mustn't!" 

Duffy  stopped  thunderstruck.  Jimmy's  tone 
could  only  be  qualified  by  one  adjective — coy.  And 
whatever  Mr.  Weames  must  not  do,  she  quite  ob- 
viously would  not  mind  very  much  if  he  did.  That 
was  what  Mr.  Weames  also  understood,  but  had  his 
cautious  mind  been  unaffected  by  his  generosity  in 
the  matter  of  whisky,  this  sudden  capitulation  before 
his  all-conquering  soul  would  have  struck  him  as 
only  suspicious.  But  his  cautious  mind  was  blind. 

His  eyes  too  could  not  have  been  over  clear- 
sighted, for  he  pursued  with  all-conquering  vigor 
Jimmy's  dim,  white-clad  figure  as  it  ran  coyly  down 
the  deck.  He  felt,  with  all  of  the  victor's  readiness, 
that  he  was  about  to  satisfy  the  insistent  urge. 

This  readiness  must  have  added  to  his  blindness, 
for  as  he  ran  he  did  not  see  the  dim,  white-clad 
figure  bring  a  sort  of  hop,  skip  and  a  jump  into  its 
flight.  If  he  had,  his  cautious  mind  might  have 
reasserted  itself  in  time  to  save  him,  but  as  it  was 
he  caught  his  feet  in  a  taut,  almost  invisible  length 
of  whip-cord,  stretched  some  six  inches  from  the 
deck,  and  staggering,  pitched  headlong  through  an 
open  hatch — a  coal -bunker  hatch. 

He  landed  with  no  comfort  and  less  dignity  on  a 


i52        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

sliding,  choking  heap  of  coal.  As  he  pitched  he  was 
aware  of  the  taut  whip-cord,  but  the  awareness  came 
a  little  late. 

Duffy,  who  had  sped  with  some  eagerness  in  the 
wake  of  Mr.  Weames,  was  able  to  pull  himself  up  in 
time  to  avoid  a  like  calamity.  He  thanked  heaven 
that  his  cautious  mind  was  awake,  and  he  forthwith 
seized  the  stout,  wooden  cover  used  for  battening 
down  the  hatch,  and  fixed  it  securely  in  its  place. 

Then  he  untied  the  whip-cord,  rolled  it  into  a  ball, 
flung  it  overboard,  and  with  leisurely  steps,  made 
for  the  companionway,  and  "The  Rose"  steamed 
blissfully  on  in  happy  ignorance  of  a  mate  in  one 
of  her  coal  bunkers. 

Duffy  reached  the  saloon  at  the  same  time  as  the 
dim,  white-clad  figure,  and  he  politely  made  way 
for  it. 

Honest  Pig  looked  up  as  they  came  in  together; 
he  watched  them  carefully. 

"What  have  you  two  been  doing  now?"  he  asked 
when  he  saw  their  flushed  faces.  "Do  you  always 
move  at  a  run?" 

Jimmy  mumbled  something,  looked  at  Duffy,  and 
saw  in  his  eyes  the  light  of  knowledge.  He  had  seen 
the  discomfiture  of  her  liver-faced  lover,  and  pa- 
tiently she  waited  for  him  to  tell  Honest  Pig  the 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  153 

whole  story.  But  Duffy  did  not  speak;  he  had 
learned  his  lesson. 

With  nothing  more  enlightening  than  a  polite  "good 
night"  he  entered  his  cabin,  shut  the  door  and  seated 
himself  on  the  edge  of  his  bunk.  He  was  perturbed, 
and  for  that  reason  took  off  his  horn-rimmed  spec- 
tacles and  polished  them.  He  was  debating  in  his 
mind  if  it  would  harm  Mr.  Weames  to  spend  the 
night  in  a  coal  bunker.  He  did  not  want  to  lose  the 
source  of  adventure,  but  at  the  same  time  he  recog- 
nized that  it  might  have  a  salutary  effect  on 
him. 

Then  he  decided,  though  up  to  the  moment  he  had 
shown  none  of  the  signs  of  it,  that  it  was  Jimmy's 
affair,  and  not  his.  With  an  even  mind  he  fell 
asleep. 

I  think  we  ought  to  go  back  to  Mr.  Weames  in  his 
coal  bunker,  swearing  and  spitting  dust,  watching 
the  moonlit  patch  of  sky  being  blotted  out  as  the 
hatch  was  battened  down.  When  the  light  went  he 
swore  with  what  fluency  the  coal  dust  would  allow, 
the  cautious  mind  of  him  fully  awakened  by  his 
arrival  on  the  coal,  all  his  all-conquering  soul  aflame 
with  rage.  He  said  "Damn  the  little  minx!"  a  great 
many  times  and  worked  himself  into  a  fine  fury. 
Occasionally  he  banged  the  steel  bulkhead  with  a 


154        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

piece  of  coal.    The  furnaces,  which  did  nothing  to 
alleviate  his  sufferings,  were  in  the  next  section. 

He  conceived  during  that  black,  evil  night,  an  un- 
quenchable, vicious  hatred  for  Jimmy,  who,  thinking 
she  had  only  dampened  the  ardor  of  an  unpleasant 
fellow,  had  in  reality  made  for  herself  an  enemy  of 
a  bitterness  she  could  scarcely  have  comprehended. 
She  slept  that  night  the  untroubled  sleep  of  one  who 
is  satisfied. 

.  .  .  .  . 

At  breakfast  the  next  morning,  Jimmy,  Honest 
Pig  and  Duffy  were  seated  in  their  places  when 
Honest  Pig  asked: 

"Where  is  Mr.  Weames?  He  ought  to  be  about 
by  now;  he  wasn't  over-drunk  last  night." 

The  other  two  surmised  circumspectly  in  differing 
degrees  of  cautiousness. 

"It  isn't  his  watch.  Bang  his  door,  Duffy,"  Hon- 
est Pig  added. 

Duffy  banged  the  mate's  door.  That  he  should 
receive  no  answer  caused  him  little  surprise. 

At  this  moment  came  a  shout  of  laughter  from  the 
lower  regions  of  the  ship.  MacNab  had  answered 
the  rapping  on  the  bulkhead.  A  few  seconds  later  a 
motley  figure  walked  slowly  into  the  cabin;  its  face 
was  black,  its  once  immaculate  duck  was  black,  and 


THE  LIVER-FACED  LOVER  155 

it  left  a  trail  of  black  coal  dust  behind  it  on  the 
white  boards. 

"Good  God ! "  cried  Honest  Pig.  "What  the  devil 
is  it?" 

"It  looks  a  little  like  Mr.  Weames,"  said  Jimmy 
with  wonderful  control.  She  had  a  swift  contrast 
of  Mr.  Weames  the  lover  and  Mr.  Weames  in  his 
present  terrible  condition,  and  she  wanted  badly  to 
laugh.  The  kitten  left  in  a  scurrying  hurry. 

Honest  Pig  glared  at  the  apparition  for  a  moment. 
Then  he  burst  into  one  of  his  hurricane  shouts  of 
laughter,  which  Jimmy  and  Duffy  discreetly  shared. 

Mr.  Weames  mouthed  for  a  moment  in  inarticulate 
rage,  then  broke  for  his  cabin  door  and  slammed  it 
behind  him.  While  he  scrubbed  the  worst  of  the 
coal  from  his  person,  he  told  himself  of  all  the  things 
he  was  going  to  do  to  Jimmy.  He  was  no  longer 
only  a  scoundrel — he  was  a  dangerous  scoundrel. 

When  Honest  Pig  recovered  sufficiently  to  order 
Evans  to  clear  up  the  trail  of  coal  dust,  he  asked 
again  what  it  all  meant.  He  could  not  help  but 
connect  the  flushed  faces  of  the  two  on  the  night 
before  and  the  havoc  rendered  on  Mr.  Weames. 
The  two  facts  leaped  together  in  his  mind.  When 
Jimmy  answered,  it  was  in  safety,  for  Honest  Pig 
had  laughed. 


156        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"He  tried  to  kiss  me,"  she  said  simply,  "so  I 
threw  him  in  a  coal  bunker." 

Honest  Pig  looked  at  her,  admiration  growing  in 
his  eyes,  then  he  said: 

"Good!     Dam'  good!"  and  he  laughed  again. 

Mr.  Weames  heard  the  laugh,  and  he  swore — 
viciously. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  BEGINNING 

AND  thereafter  the  relations  of  the  people  in  the 
little  world  of  "The  Rose"  were  again  changed. 

Jimmy  and  Duffy  were  once  more  linked  by  the 
murderous  scowls  with  which  the  mate  enlivened  all 
his  dealings  with  them,  while  Honest  Pig  began  to 
take  a  little  more  interest  in  the  human  beings  about 
him;  an  interest  he  could  hardly  help  since  he  dwelt 
in  an  atmosphere  impregnated  with  the  feelings  each 
was  giving  forth. 

This  link  between  Jimmy  and  Duffy  was  below 
the  surface,  for  though  outwardly  she  still  preserved 
a  snubbing,  disinterested  attitude  and  he  felt  in  his 
heart  all  the  distress  his  adventurous  mind  would 
allow,  they  each  recognized  that  the  other  was  an  ally 
in  the  matter  of  Mr.  Weames. 

During  the  next  fortnight  that  "The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square"  spent  in  fighting  a  heavy  head 
current  to  Shanghai,  Duffy  occupied  himself  with 
his  navigation.  It  had  all  the  practice  he  could 
have  desired,  for  Honest  Pig  went  down  with  fever 

157 


158        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

and  Mr.  Weames  went  surlier  than  ever.  Also  he 
drank  a  great  deal  of  whisky,  with  the  result  that 
the  handling  of  the  ship  fell  much  into  the  hands 
of  Duffy,  while  Jimmy  dropped  almost  insensibly 
into  the  shoes  of  the  mate.  She  even  found  herself 
being  shouted  at  by  an  infuriated  Duffy,  who  at 
times  would  dance  up  and  down  the  bridge  and 
swear  at  them  all.  They  both  discovered  that  Hon- 
est Pig  had  been  right  when  he  alluded  to  his  crew  as 
lazy  wharf  rats.  They  certainly  did  the  minimum 
of  work  in  the  maximum  amount  of  time. 

With  Honest  Pig's  number  elevens  safely  tucked 
away  under  his  berth,  and  his  virulent  tongue 
rendered  weak  by  fever,  they  did  even  less  and  took 
more  time  to  do  it. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  second  week,  however, 
Duffy,  by  a  combination  of  skill,  speed  and  a  great 
deal  of  luck,  managed  to  create  an  impression  in  the 
thick  heads  of  an  assembled  crew  that  did  much  to 
bring  them  safely  into  the  port  of  Shanghai. 

It  was  over  the  matter  of  a  coil,  or  rather  an  un- 
coil, of  rope  which  caught  Duffy's  eagle  eye.  He 
called  the  bo'sun. 

"Just  a  minute,  Green.  Who's  responsible  for 
this?"  and  he  indicated  the  scattered  rope  that 
should  have  been  coiled  into  a  neat  heap. 


A  BEGINNING  159 

Green,  a  thick-set,  typically  sailing-ship  sailor 
with  a  delicate  shade  of  red  brick  suffusing  his  ample 
countenance,  looked  carefully  at  the  rope.  After 
some  thought,  he  said  briefly: 

"Timson."  He  saw  no  necessity  for  addressing 
the  super-cargo  as  "sir." 

Duffy  had  slowly  come  to  the  conclusion  during 
the  past  week  that  if  he  was  going  to  get  "The  Rose" 
into  Shanghai,  it  would  not  be  done  by  swearing  at 
people  from  the  bridge.  He  had  got  to  demonstrate. 
All  the  most  hardened  adventurers  recognized  and 
employed  the  great  principle  of  demonstration  as 
the  father  and  mother  of  result.  Duffy  had  got  to 
display  this  ability — he  wanted  results. 

He  looked  at  the  coil  of  rope  with  a  heavy  scowl. 
Obviously,  the  next  step  was  to  pipe  all  hands  on 
deck.  Demonstration  is  absolutely  useless  without 
an  audience. 

"Pipe  all  hands!"  said  Duffy,  and  he  clambered 
onto  the  bridge  and  inspected  the  compass.  Jimmy 
was  at  the  wheel,  and  she  saw  his  scowl.  He  seemed 
very  vital  to  her,  which  would  have  warmed  his  heart 
had  he  known,  for  he  desired  to  look  vital. 

Somewhat  languidly  the  hands  appeared  below 
him  on  the  deck,  and  they  gathered  into  questioning 


160       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

knots;  Duffy's  scowl  thickened.  Then  he  shouted 
in  an  amazingly  loud  voice : 

"Listen  to  me!  There  are  one  or  two  little  things 
I  want  to  point  out  to  you  fellows,  and  this  is  the 
only  chance  you're  going  to  get  of  hearing  me.  I'm 
getting  sick  of  talking!" 

The  men  looked  up,  amusement  their  chief  emo- 
tion. Jimmy  gazed  at  Duffy  in  surprise. 

"Watch  that  compass!"  he  snapped.  She 
watched  it,  and  wondered  why.  Duffy  turned  to 
the  hands. 

"I  don't  like  the  way  the  work  on  board  this  boat 
is  being  done.  Captain  Fellowes  has  put  me  in  vir- 
tual charge  while  he's  sick,  and  I'm  going  to  see  a 
little  smartening  up,  or  there's  going  to  be  hell  to 
pay.  I'm  not  in  the  habit  of  permitting  slackness 
or  slovenliness  on  board  the  ships  I  captain!"  His 
voice  held  the  traditional  ring  of  icy  determination, 
and  in  the  midst  of  his  shameful  nervousness  he 
found  a  moment  to  admire  his  own  words.  Then  he 
went  on: 

"Is  Timson  down  there?"  There  was  a  moment's 
silence,  then  a  gruff  voice  answered: 

"Aye,  sir!" 

Duffy  walked  deliberately  down  the  ladder  of  the 
bridge  and  stood  on  the  lowest  rung. 


A  BEGINNING  161 

"Step  forward  a  moment,  Timson! "  he  said,  loudly 
enough  for  them  all  to  hear. 

A  tall,  lanky  man  came  forward  and  stood  some 
six  feet  from  him. 

"You  are  Timson?"  asked  Duffy. 

"Aye,  sir!" 

"Do  you  look  after  this  part  of  the  deck?" 

Timson  looked  uncomfortable. 

"Aye,  sir!" 

"Are  you  responsible  for  that  rope  over  there?" 

The  man  looked  at  it. 

"Aye,  sir ! " 

"Then  why  in  hell  isn't  it  coiled?"  shouted  Duffy 
with  a  suddenness  that  made  them  all  jump;  Jimmy 
allowed  "The  Rose"  to  swing  off  her  course  by  a 
point. 

Timson  looked  more  uncomfortable,  and  he  smiled 
a  little  foolishly.  He  obviously  had  not  grasped  the 
gravity  of  the  situation.  Then  he  said  slowly: 

"  'Aven't  'ad  no  time,  sir!" 

"Then  you've  dam'  well  got  to  find  time,"  shouted 
Duffy,  even  more  loudly  and  with  even  greater  de- 
termination, and  he  jumped  the  six  feet  that  sep- 
arated him  from  Timson  like  a  cat  and  caught  that 
unfortunate  disciple  of  the  great  principle  of  demon- 
stration under  his  lantern  jaw  with  a  small  but  ex- 


162        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

ceedingly  hard  fist.  Timson,  surprised  and  utterly 
bewildered,  staggered  backwards  and  collapsed  in 
the  scuppers,  where  he  sat  and  rubbed  his  jaw  medi- 
tatively. He  was  still  utterly  bewildered. 

Duffy,  thrills  of  excitement  and  triumph  running 
up  and  down  his  spine,  turned  on  the  crew. 

"Don't  let  me  catch  anybody  else  playing  that 
game — I'll  use  a  marlin-spike  to  the  next  joker! 
That  will  do,"  he  added  in  level  tones,  and  he 
mounted  the  bridge  again. 

The  hands  dispersed — quickly. 

Jimmy  looked  at  Duffy  with  something  like  re- 
spect in  her  dark  eyes.  She  had  great  difficulty 
in  reconciling  Duffy,  the  dirty  little  sneak,  and 
Duffy  displaying  one  of  the  qualities  she  most 
admired  in  her  father.  Quick,  decisive  action. 
Further  she  saw  the  necessity  for  it  in  this  case  and 
later  she  appreciated  the  results.  She  did  not  know 
that  Duffy  that  same  evening  presented  a  surprised 
Timson  with  half  a  pound  of  tobacco. 

"The  Rose  of  Washington  Square"  was  an  admir- 
able ship  for  the  next  week;  she  almost  captained 
herself,  and  Duffy  put  into  practice  the  valuable 
knowledge  acquired  from  a  small  volume  of  "Lao- 
Tse's  Sayings"  which  Yen  San  had  given  him.  In 
it  he  found  the  text  of  the  philosophy,  "Govern  a 


A  BEGINNING  163 

great  nation  as  you  would  cook  a  little  fish;  but 
little."  Duffy  applied  it  to  the  crew  of  "The  Rose" ; 
he  governed  them  but  a  little,  and  it  worked. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Weames  began  to  put  in  a  more 
regular  appearance  and  Duffy  wondered  at  it  until 
he  discovered  that  the  only  two  cases  of  whisky  in 
the  lazarette  were  empty.  The  mate  shivered  and 
scowled  for  a  couple  of  days  in  spite  of  the  heat,  after 
which  he  felt  better  and  only  scowled. 

Honest  Pig  began  to  move  about  again,  and  when 
"The  Rose"  put  into  Shanghai  he  was  fit  enough  to 
superintend  the  coaling.  Duffy  relinquished  the 
reins  of  government  reluctantly — but  he  saw  that  in 
the  holding  of  them  he  had  attained  two  objects  at 
least — a  firm  belief  in  his  ability  to  captain  a  ship 
and  a  slight  progress  into  the  hardened  heart  of 
Jimmy.  She  snubbed  him  less  frequently  and  on 
rare  occasions  spoke  to  him  without  waiting  for  him 
to  speak  first. 

In  the  midst  of  the  coaling,  when  "The  Rose" 
was  at  her  blackest,  Duffy  took  Jimmy  ashore  firmly. 
She  would  not  have  gone  but  for  the  fact  that  Duffy 
invited  her  unexpectedly  and  she  had  no  refusal  to 
offer;  also  she  wanted  to  avoid  the  unromantic  and 
dirty  operation  of  coaling.  Honest  Pig  would  not 
have  let  her  go  alone;  it  was  better  to  have  Duffy 


i64        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

offer  himself  as  a  cavalier  than  to  have  to  ask  him 
to  fulfil  that  role. 

They  walked  down  the  main  thoroughfare  of 
Shanghai,  with  its  weird  mixture  of  China  and 
Europe  in  evidence  at  every  step.  All  the  notices 
were  in  English  and  Chinese,  and  articles  in  the  shop 
windows  priced  in  dollars  had  the  Chinese  equiv- 
alent below.  The  American  and  European  offices 
were  opening  with  an  early  morning  bustle,  the  place 
was  full  of  hurrying  people.  After  their  long  period 
at  sea,  the  world  seemed  indeed  full  to  the  two  ad- 
venturers. 

Duffy  led  the  way  to  the  agents  whose  address  the 
little  collector  had  given  him,  and  found  there  await- 
ing him  a  letter  from  his  employer,  one  from  Binks 
and  MacArthur  enclosing  the  four  "Dalkeith  Ad- 
venture Novels"  for  the  previous  month,  and  further 
a  gratifying  check  for  his  salary  up-to-date. 

"We  are  now  rich,"  he  said  to  Jimmy,  in  the  door- 
way on  their  way  out,  "and  lest  we  suffer  from  that 
embarrassment,  we  will  forthwith  rid  ourselves  of 
it." 

Jimmy  looked  very  cheerful,  and  much  to  her 
own  annoyance  and  Duffy's  satisfaction,  smiled 
happily.  Then  she  remembered  her  part  and 
frowned.  It  is  difficult  to  hate  a  man  who  is  suf- 


A  BEGINNING  165 

fering  from  an  embarrassment  of  riches  and  wishes 
to  rid  himself  of  the  annoyance. 

Jimmy  had  not  had  many  opportunities  of  seeing 
the  brighter  side  of  life  in  the  cities,  and  she  badly 
wanted  to  accompany  Duffy.  But  her  father,  how- 
ever much  he  swindled  and  bamboozled  other  people, 
had  taught  Jimmy  that  though  it  is  permissible  to 
do  all  manner  of  evil  things  to  evil  people,  one  must 
play  the  game  with  oneself.  Most  of  Honest  Pig's 
code  was  a  twisted  philosophy  born  of  bitter  experi- 
ence in  a  world  that  taught  it  as  the  only  means  of 
life,  but  in  this  one  particular,  the  only  one  for 
which  Jimmy  had  found  real  sympathy,  Honest  Pig 
had  discovered  a  spice  of  truth.  He  played  straight 
with  himself. 

Jimmy  seriously  hated  Duffy,  not  with  the  venom 
with  which  Mr.  Weames  hated  her,  but  with  the 
hate  that  a  vivid,  rather  savage  nature  can  show;  it 
isolated  him  from  her  scheme  of  life — completely. 

So  when  Duffy  suggested  that  they  should  go 
shopping  together  and  later  have  lunch  at  the  big 
hotel  on  the  parade,  she  debated  the  ethics  of  the 
matter  with  no  little  thoroughness.  Finally  she  said 
firmly: 

"Look  here.  If  we  have  lunch,  I  shall  pay  for 
mine.  If  we  have  any  expenses,  I  am  going  to 


i66       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

stand  my  share.  I  want  you  to  understand  I  am 
accepting  nothing  from  you  beyond  your  escort. 
That  I  cannot  very  well  help.  My  father  wishes 
it." 

"Sure,"  said  Duffy  hurriedly.  This  sudden  re- 
minder of  how  things  were  between  them  came  as  a 
cloud  across  the  sun.  He  thrust  it  from  his  mind 
as  best  he  could,  but  the  conscientious  manner  in 
which  Jimmy  insisted  on  exact  calculation  when  it 
came  to  deciding  how  much  Duffy  spent  on  liquor 
chocolates,  which  he  purchased  the  moment  he  had 
cashed  his  check,  made  that  forgetting  difficult. 

Duffy  told  her,  when  they  were  back  in  the  street, 
that  he  had  spent  one  dollar-fifty  on  them,  but  for 
Jimmy  that  was  not  sufficient  evidence.  She  had 
to  reenter  the  shop  and  ask  the  assistant,  who  told 
her — that  they  cost  two  dollars.  With  great  firm- 
ness she  presented  him  with  a  dollar. 

Then  they  went  shopping.  At  an  outfitter's 
Duffy  purchased  three  more  silk  shirts  and  three 
suits  of  white  drill.  After  watching  the  expert  Duffy 
choosing  the  shirts,  Jimmy  told  the  man  who  served 
them  that  she  wished  for  three  silk  shirts. 

"The  next  department,  madam.  Ladies'  Outfit- 
ting," he  said. 

"I  don't  want  ladies'  shirts — I  want  those,"  said 


A  BEGINNING  167 

Jimmy.    "There  is  a  good  deal  more  wear  in  them." 

"For  tennis,  madam?  I  think  you'll  find  them 
rather  heavy." 

"Heavy  for  tennis!  I  do  not  play  tennis,"  said 
Jimmy.  And  she  left  the  department  with  three 
excellent  but  gentleman's  extra-weight,  best,  shan- 
tung silk  shirts. 

Duffy  was  pleased  with  her  firmness,  but  vaguely 
disturbed  that  a  girl  should  want  to  wear  men's 
shirts.  But  in  another  department,  where  Duffy 
bought  three  gentleman's  extra-weight,  best,  shan- 
tung breeches,  Jimmy  fell  instantly  and  frankly  in 
love  with  the  idea  of  wearing  like  garments.  The 
scandalized  assistant  served  her  with  three  pairs  of 
breeches.  Duffy  gave  it  up;  but  he  had  a  vision 
of  Jimmy  in  a  white  silk  shirt,  white  silk  breeches 
and  brown  suede  top-boots.  It  was  a  vision  that 
appealed  to  his  adventurous  mind,  and  he  began 
to  realize  that  she  was  the  only  girl  in  a  thousand 
who  could  create  that  vision — and  look  right.  They 
sent  their  parcels  to  "The  Rose"  by  a  messenger. 

Then  they  retired  into  a  palm  lounge  and  ate  a 
great  many  various  but  cooling  fruit  sundaes.  Later 
still  they  entered  the  grill-room  of  the  biggest  hotel 
in  Shanghai  with  determined  feet.  They  were  going 
to  lunch. 


168        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

The  waiters  eyed  them  with  some  curiosity;  Duffy 
with  his  brown  face,  sandy  hair  and  horn-rimmed 
spectacles,  and  Jimmy,  her  dark  hair  and  eyes  con- 
trasting strongly  with  her  white,  simple  frock,  to- 
gether with  the  air  of  hard-bitten  adventurousness 
about  the  pair,  excited  no  little  attention.  At  the 
biggest  hotel  in  Shanghai,  strange  men  from  the  cor- 
ners of  the  world  eat  and  loiter  awhile.  They  are 
adventurers  and  accepted  as  such  unquestioned,  but 
they  have  nothing  of  the  youth  that  these  two  had. 
The  waiters  were  eager,  and  Duffy  ordered  a  simple 
but  satisfying  meal. 

Over  their  coffee,  they  talked  of  the  Treasure  of 
the  Manchus. 

"I've  worked  it  out,"  said  Duffy.  "Taiho  Shan 
is  about  two  hundred  miles  northeast  by  east.  We 
ought  to  be  ashore  there  within  an  easy  week  of 
our  leaving  here.  The  jade  will  not  take  long  to 
get  aboard." 

"Are  you  going  to  unpack  it?"  asked  Jimmy. 
She  felt  she  ought  not  to  be  talking  to  Duffy  at  all, 
but  this  seemed  a  holiday — probably  when  they  were 
on  board  "The  Rose"  again  she  would  have  little 
difficulty  in  hating  him  as  strongly  as  ever.  He 
was  a  difficult  person  to  hate. 

"Yes,"  answered  Duffy,  "if  it  is  still  in  the  orig- 


A  BEGINNING  169 

inal  chests.    It  will  give  us  something  to  do  on  the 
homeward  voyage." 

"Is  Mr.  Northcote  a  very  great  friend  of  yours?" 
she  asked  him.  He  did  not  answer — he  was  looking 
over  her  shoulder  with  a  curious  expression,  almost 
triumphant.  Then  he  looked  down  quickly  and 
said: 

"Don't  look  round,  Jimmy,"  his  voice  had 
dropped  to  an  adventurer's  whisper.  "Weames  is 
sitting  at  the  next  table." 

Jimmy  reached  for  her  purse-bag,  took  out  a  small 
mirror,  and  in  it  inspected  her  flawless  features. 

"Yes,  I  see  him,"  she  said.  "What  an  enormous 
man  he's  with.  He's  much  bigger  than  Daddy.  See 
how  his  eyebrows  meet.  He's  got  a  devil  of  a 
temper." 

"Yes,"  said  Duffy;  "I  wonder  who  it  is?" 

Mr.  Weames  and  the  big  man  were  seated  at  the 
neighboring  table,  their  heads  bent  together  in  ear- 
nest conversation.  Occasionally  the  big  man  would 
nod  with  satisfaction  as  the  mate  explained  some- 
thing to  him. 

"Weames  is  supposed  to  be  on  board,"  said 
Jimmy. 

"Well,  he's  not,"  Duffy  remarked,  and  he  inspected 
the  two  at  the  next  table  with  great  care.  He  had 


i7o       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

a  triumphant  feeling  that  the  source  of  adventure 
was  not  going  to  disappoint  him.  It  looked  ex- 
tremely fishy. 

Presently  Mr.  Weames  took  out  his  watch, 
glanced  at  it,  reached  for  his  panama  hat,  shook 
hands  with  the  big  man,  and  after  one  or  two  final 
remarks  of  some  decisive  nature,  hurried  out.  The 
big  man  sat  for  a  few  moments  toying  with  a  liquor 
glass  and  smiling  to  himself;  he  was  evidently  very 
pleased  with  himself.  Then  he  also  went  out,  and 
the  two  were  left  to  their  conjectures. 

"Something's  going  to  happen,"  said  Duffy  joy- 
fully, "and  it's  not  going  to  be  a  feather-bed  affair, 
whatever  it  is.  Those  two  were  hatching  the  devil's 
own  game." 

"They  looked  like  it,"  Jimmy  answered,  "but 
I  don't  see  quite  what  they  can  do.  At  the  same 
time  this  business  has  gone  a  great  deal  too  smoothly 
for  my  liking;  we're  due  for  trouble  of  some  sort." 

And  they  fell  to  discussing  the  probable  nature 
of  it.  Jimmy  was  not  very  much  impressed  with  the 
capabilities  of  Mr.  Weames.  She  thought  him  a 
poor  sort  of  scoundrel,  but  Duffy  was  more  opti- 
mistic; he  thought  that  if  a  piece  of  villainy  had 
sufficient  to  show  for  the  effort  the  mate  might  rise 
to  it.  They  tired  of  the  discussion  after  a  while 


A  BEGINNING  171 

and  the  settling  of  the  bill  diverted  them;  again 
Jimmy  paid  her  share. 

The  afternoon  heat  drove  them  again  into  the  palm 
court  and  they  sat  there  silent,  watching  the  people, 
Duffy  allowing  his  eyes  to  rest  on  the  refreshing 
beauty  of  the  girl,  and  again  he  felt  the  yearning 
of  his  heart  and  again  he  told  himself  he  had  no 
business  to  listen  to  it.  He  detected  a  weakening 
in  the  fight  and  he  put  it  down  to  the  languid 
warmth  of  the  day.  His  job  was  to  find  the  Treas- 
ure of  the  Manchus,  not  to  fall  in  love  with  a  pretty 
girl.  Besides,  she  still  hated  him. 

That  evening  they  returned  to  "The  Rose"  in 
time  for  supper  and  found  Honest  Pig  seated  with 
Mr.  Weames  in  the  chart-house,  poring  over  a  chart 
of  the  Archipelago.  Honest  Pig  was  ruling  a  faint 
pencil  line  to  a  small  dot  in  the  middle  of  the  blue 
expanse  of  sea. 

"There  we  are,"  he  said,  as  they  came  in,  "two 
hundred  and  ten  miles  with  nothing  in  the  way. 
As  far  as  this  chart  can  be  relied  upon,  Taiho  Shan 
is  the  only  island  within  a  hundred  mile  radius  of 
that  particular  point.  We  shall  have  that  jade 
aboard  within  ten  days." 

"Good,"  said  Duffy,  and  looked  at  Mr.  Weames. 
The  mate's  usual  scowl  had  given  predominance  to 


1 72        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

a  new  expression — partly  sneering,  partly  trium- 
phant, but  a  little  uncomfortable.  He  gave  Duffy 
the  impression  of  a  small  boy  who  hears  his  grown- 
ups talking  of  the  jam  in  the  cupboard,  the  jam 
he  covets  and  has  plans  to  steal. 

Duffy  was  as  sure  as  ever  he  was  in  his  life  about 
anything  that  Mr.  Weames  had  designs  on  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus,  and  his  adventurous  in- 
stincts rose  within  him  in  an  overwhelming  flood. 
He  was  ready. 

The  mate  realized  Duffy's  interested  gaze  and 
replaced  the  new  expression  with  a  more  than  vicious 
scowl.  It  was  poisonous,  and  Duffy  scowled  back, 
heartily.  Honest  Pig  watched  this  interplay  with 
amused  surprise — he  even  burst  into  a  small  roar  of 
laughter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MILK 

THE  discomfort  of  Mr.  Weames  was  undoubtedly  a 
fact,  and  a  fact  that  showed  in  a  nervous  irritability 
for  the  rest  of  the  evening.  During  supper  he  kept 
his  head  bent  and  at  times  fidgeted  with  a  fork. 
Duffy  continued  to  watch  him  carefully  and  with  a 
certain  amount  of  quiet,  rather  gloating  pleasure. 
Indeed,  by  the  end  of  the  meal  he  had  reduced  the 
mate  to  a  supine  fury  that  burned  ominously  in  that 
villain's  little  black  eyes  when  he  could  no  longer 
avoid  meeting  Duffy's  joyful  gaze.  It  caused  him 
to  leave  the  saloon  to  take  his  watch  in  a  savage 
mood  the  moment  the  meal  was  finished. 

The  others  noticed  it  and  remarked  on  it.  Honest 
Pig  was  of  the  opinion  that  Weames  would  make  a 
very  poor  sort  of  scoundrel  if  he  could  not  learn  to 
control  his  feelings,  and  a  heated  discussion  followed 
his  assertion.  Duffy  refused  to  have  his  villain  un- 
derrated. His  will  to  believe  in  the  mate's  wicked- 
ness was  sublime;  it  quite  warped  his  judgment. 
Honest  Pig  finished  the  argument  by  suggesting  that 

173 


i74        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

that  was  what  had  happened.  Therefore  Duffy  left 
the  cabin  in  a  mood  that  was  not  perhaps  savage, 
but  at  least  disturbed.  His  usual  air  of  self-suffi- 
ciency was  not  very  evident.  That,  at  all  events,  is 
the  reason  I  would  suggest  for  his  unfortunate  inter- 
ference in  an  affair  that  spoiled  the  quiet  of  the 
evening  and  temporarily  what  there  may  have  been 
of  his  personal  beauty. 

You  will  remember  that  the  mate  left  the  cabin 
first — it  was  his  dog-watch.  Then  apparently  Duffy 
was  the  next  to  leave;  but  actually  he  was  not. 
Before  he  went,  the  kitten,  whose  young  life  seemed 
to  have  been  marked  out  by  Destiny  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  many  strange  and  unusual  happenings, 
licked  its  whiskers  of  some  of  Yen  San's  artistic 
gravy,  surveyed  the  argumentative  scene  with  a  cer- 
tain distaste,  rubbed  its  head  against  Jimmy's  leg, 
and  then  ambled  nonchalantly  up  the  companion- 
way  and  out  into  the  shadows  of  the  deck.  In  the 
shadows  it  found  much  to  remind  it  of  far-away 
Aden;  though  true  it  found  them  clean  shadows. 

For  a  while  it  examined  several  details  it  had  not 
observed  before  about  the  construction  of  a  boat 
davit,  chewed  the  end  of  a  rope,  and  finally  strolled 
aimlessly  into  the  middle  of  the  deck.  Here  it 
evolved  a  complicated  but  gyratory  game  with  the 


MILK  175 

end  of  its  tail  in  the  moonlight;  a  game  that 
occupied  all  its  attention  and  energy  for  some  while. 
It  was  still  at  it  when  Duffy  came  up  and  began 
walking  up  and  down  in  a  manner  approved  by  all 
conspirators,  deep  in  speculation.  The  kitten  was 
far  too  absorbed  to  notice  him. 

Nor  did  it  notice  Mr.  Weames. 

Mr.  Weames  was  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  his 
mood  had  by  no  means  lost  its  savagery.  It  did  it 
no  good  when  presently  he  discovered  that  he  had 
no  tobacco.  He  cursed,  and  came  down  the  ladder 
of  the  poop.  On  the  third  step  he  slipped,  lost  his 
hold,  and  slithered  down  the  remaining  steps  in  a 
very  ungraceful  and  undignified  way.  He  arrived 
at  the  bottom,  cursed  again,  but  more  furiously,  and 
walked  towards  the  cabin  companion.  Then  his  eyes 
fell  on  the  kitten — and,  a  moment  later,  his  boot. 

The  kitten  banged  rather  sickeningly  against  the 
bulwark,  and  howled — once;  and  the  mate  felt  a 
bit  better.  He  had  vented  his  spleen — and  it  cost 
him  nothing;  and  though  it  cost  the  kitten  some- 
thing, it  was  less  than  it  cost  Duffy,  who  really 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it  all. 

Duffy  turned  at  the  end  of  deck,  whither  his  pac- 
ing had  taken  him,  in  time  to  see  the  mate's  brutal 
and  unnecessary  violence  on  the  kitten  and  to  hear 


176        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

the  howl  of  that  unfortunate  animal  as  it  hit  the 
bulwark.  It  was  exactly  what  Duffy  wanted,  and 
his  subsequent  action  was  characteristic  of  him. 

The  mate  continued  on  his  way  to  the  companion, 
feeling  a  little  better.  Duffy  ran  down  the  deck 
after  him,  reached  him  and  touched  him  on  the 
shoulder. 

"Just  a  minute,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Weames,"  he 
said. 

The  mate  looked  round. 

"What's  the  matter  now?"  he  asked,  his  ill-temper 
coming  out  in  his  voice. 

"Only  a  minute,  only  a  minute,"  repeated  Duffy. 
Then  he  led  the  mate  into  the  exact  center  of  the 
deck,  and  almost  to  the  same  spot  where  the  kitten 
had  been  playing.  He  took  the  mate  by  each  shoul- 
der and  stood  him  in  front  of  him,  gauging  distances 
with  a  glittering,  determined  eye. 

The  mate  watched  these  strange  preparations  with 
an  ill-concealed,  sneering  amusement,  which  for  a 
very  good  reason,  however,  did  not  remain  with  him 
long. 

The  reason  was  this: 

Duffy  drove  his  fist  into  the  sneering  face  with 
an  appalling  suddenness  and  force  that  flung  the 


MILK  177 

man  across  the  deck.  He  fetched  up  in  the  scup- 
pers with  a  crash  that  seemed  to  shake  the  world. 

It  was  the  same  blow  that  had  so  startled  Timson 
when  he  played  his  uncomfortable  part  as  a  disciple 
of  the  great  principle  of  demonstration;  a  blow  that 
only  Duffy's  extraordinary  luck  could  have  enabled 
him  to  use  twice. 

The  mate  clambered  unsteadily  to  his  feet,  and 
Duffy  danced  towards  him,  thrilled  with  a  sense  of 
power. 

"Dear  Mr.  Weames — dear  little  fellow!  And  you 
are  going  to  learn  the  extreme  stupidity  of  kicking 
kittens  and  showing  your  nasty  temper!  Come  on, 
come  on! "  And  he  jumped  up  and  down  with  joyful 
anticipation  of  flooring  the  mate  again. 

Mr.  Weames  clutched  a  stanchion  and  wiped  his 
mouth.  Then  he  took  out  a  knife. 

"Damn  you,  Duff;  you're  going  to  pay  for  that!" 
And  he  hunched  himself  for  a  spring;  the  knife 
curving  forward  in  an  ugly,  vicious  sweep. 

For  a  second  Duffy  eyed  this  tangible  evidence 
of  the  mate's  unsporting  instinct  with  eyes  that 
were  anxious  and  a  little  indignant.  Then  his  luck 
gave  him  one  last  display  of  its  potentialities  and 
forthwith  flickered  out.  He  made  a  vigorous  lunge 


i78        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

with  his  foot  that  caught  the  mate's  wrist  and  kicked 
the  knife  out  of  his  hand.  It  struck  the  rail  and 
splashed  into  the  quiet  water  of  the  dock.  That, 
as  I  have  just  remarked,  was  the  last  piece  of  good 
fortune  that  Duffy  experienced  during  the  whole 
painful  incident. 

Mr.  Weames  snarled  and  swore  and  leaped. 

The  two  men  were  much  the  same  height,  but 
Weames  had  all  the  advantage  of  years,  and  the 
weight  and  breadth  they  gave  him,  with  the  result 
that  the  ensuing  fight  was  a  foregone  conclusion; 
a  conclusion  that  would  have  come  sooner,  perhaps, 
if  Duffy  had  not  been  remarkably  superior  in  his 
speed  and  foot  work,  and  if  Jimmy,  followed  by 
Honest  Pig,  had  not  come  upon  the  scene  at  the 
outset — that  is,  at  the  moment  Mr.  Weames  sprang. 

They  had  heard  the  crash  of  the  mate's  fall, 
which  was  the  first  intimation  they  received  that 
things  were  not  entirely  peaceful  on  board.  And  so, 
like  the  rest  of  "The  Rose's"  personnel,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  take  an  intelligent  and  quite  unbiassed 
interest  in  the  moonlit  battle. 

For  the  first  few  minutes  Duffy  managed  to  keep 
out  of  the  mate's  reach,  occasionally  lingering  in  the 
face  of  one  of  his  whirlwind  rushes  to  plant  careful 
telling  blows  on  the  more  tender  portions  of  his 


MILK  179 

anatomy.  He  derived  enormous  satisfaction  from 
the  sudden  grunts  of  pain  that  told  him  when  his 
fists  got  home.  After  a  while  the  mate  gave  up 
his  whirlwind  tactics  and  at  the  expense  of  his 
desire  to  give  his  audience  a  chance  of  seeing  a 
fighter  at  work,  contented  himself  with  a  methodi- 
cal, ding-dong  exchange  of  blows  with  his  lighter 
opponent.  All  the  time,  however,  he  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  knowing  that  he  was  driving  Duffy 
back  and  that  he  would  have  to  make  a  stand  some- 
time. Then  he  would  teach  him  to  hit  men  under 
the  jaw  indiscriminately. 

We  ought  to  turn  to  Jimmy  at  this  point,  and 
examine  her  feelings  about  the  matter. 

They  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  very  much  those 
of  her  father  and  the  men  who  were  looking  on. 
She  was  concerned  rather  with  the  technicalities  of 
the  fight  than  her  personal  feelings  about  the  fight- 
ers. She  completely  alienated  all  desire  to  ask  why 
these  two  should  be  battering  each  other  about  so 
absorbedly.  She  was  simply  interested  in  the  ef- 
fect— the  cause  mattered  little.  Had  she  known 
that  Duffy  had  championed  the  weak — her  kitten — 
she  might,  or  indeed  she  would,  have  been  less 
impersonal.  Probably  she  would  have  stopped  things 
before  they  went  as  far  as  they  did. 


180        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

And  so  she  watched;  leaning  against  the  rail,  her 
head  tilted  back,  her  eyes  half-closed,  her  breath 
coming  a  little  quickly.  Once  or  twice  she  said 
something  to  Honest  Pig,  who  either  agreed  or  dis- 
agreed in  cryptic  grunts. 

"It  will  do  that  little  man  a  lot  of  good  to  be 
knocked  around  a  bit,"  she  said.  "Weames  seems 
to  have  settled  down  to  it  in  real  earnest.  Do  you 
think  he'll  kill  him?" 

"Not  if  I  have  anything  to  do  with  it,"  Honest 
Pig  growled  into  his  beard.  "Duff  is  too  good  to 
waste  in  a  scrap  with  a  skunk  like  that." 

"Glad  he's  fighting  fair." 

"Who?  Duff?  He's  not  much  chance  of  doing 
anything  else." 

"No;  I  mean  Weames,"  said  Jimmy.  "I  should 
have  thought  he'd  have  tried  a  knife.  He's  that 
sort." 

"He  is." 

"Well,  he's  whiter  than  I  thought,"  she  admitted. 
She  had  not  been  in  time  to  see  the  mate's  instant 
resort  to  that  lethal  weapon,  nor  Duffy's  expert  dis- 
posal of  it. 

By  this  time  the  fight  was  very  obviously  a  one- 
sided affair,  and  one  or  two  murmurs  came  from 
the  men.  They  had  no  love  for  Weames;  he  did 


MILK  181 

not  inspire  it,  and  though  they  had  a  wholesome 
respect  for  Duffy's  speed  and  fistic  ability,  which, 
indeed,  was  rapidly  dwindling,  they  liked  him  better. 

Jimmy  suddenly  realized  that  she  wished  some  one 
would  stop  the  matter  before  anything  serious  hap- 
pened to  Duffy,  and  disgusted  with  herself  she  in- 
stantly thrust  the  wish  from  her,  and  concentrated 
all  her  attention  on  the  technicalities.  She  won- 
dered when,  how,  and  where  the  mate  would  use  the 
finishing  blow;  the  effect  of  it  on  the  unfortunate 
Duffy  she  did  not  allow  herself  to  contemplate.  She 
refused  to  soften. 

And  Mr.  Weames  proceeded. 

Duffy  was  pretty  nearly  exhausted,  and  his  legs 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  connection  with  the  rest  of 
him.  He  tottered  and  swayed,  and  hit  at  the  re- 
lentless, dogged  destruction  that  drove  him  where 
it  would,  with  feeble  blows  that  grew  every  second 
more  feeble.  He  was  bleeding  from  the  nose  and 
mouth,  and  a  cut  in  his  forehead  trickled  blood  into 
his  eyes.  His  spectacles  had  disappeared  early  in 
the  fight,  and  he  wondered  vaguely  what  had  hap- 
pened to  them;  they  were  the  only  pair  he  pos- 
sessed. 

Altogether  he  felt  very  little  of  a  true  adventurer 
• — and  he  disliked  himself  intensely.  Towards  the 


182        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

end  a  terrific  jolt  in  the  throat  flung  him  back  and 
down — he  lay  limply  for  a  second,  wondering  why 
the  mate  did  not  kick  him.  He  forgot  that  the 
mate  was  fighting  for  an  audience — he  wanted  them 
to  see  a  more  spectacular  finish.  He  did  not  dis- 
appoint them. 

Duffy  picked  himself  slowly  to  his  feet,  giddy 
and  sick  at  heart — and  very  sore.  Then  the  gallant 
spirit  in  him  urged  him  to  one  last  effort.  He 
gathered  himself  together  and  made  a  decidedly 
vigorous  attack.  But  it  was  quite  blind  and  barely 
conscious. 

"God!  But  he's  game!"  said  Honest  Pig,  and 
he  took  a  step  forward. 

"Leave  them  be,"  said  Jimmy  quickly,  and  she 
caught  his  arm.  "Let  them  finish  it  out." 

She  knew  the  end  had  come  and  she  knew  she 
would  not  like  it;  but  her  determination  that  the 
good  that  was  coming  to  Duffy  should  not  be  hin- 
dered, prompted  her  words  and  her  detaining  hand 
on  her  father's  arm. 

Then  she  caught  her  breath  and  with  an  effort 
kept  her  eyes  open;  she  would  not  be  weak! 

The  mate  drew  back  from  Duffy's  rush,  keeping 
him  off  with  one  hand;  smiling  triumphantly  as 


MILK  183 

he  worked  round  so  that  the  moon  shone  full  on 
the  boy.  Then  he  drove  his  fist  hi  a  blow  that 
sounded  across  the  spellbound  deck,  full  into 
Duffy's  face.  It  was  a  poor  blow,  technically,  and 
not  as  deadly  as  it  looked  and  sounded,  but  it  was 
spectacular.  It  called  a  gasp  from  his  audience. 

Duffy  swung  round  to  it,  his  arms  whirling, 
stopped,  poised  for  a  second,  and  then  sagged  for- 
ward to  his  knees,  twisting  as  he  did  so.  Then  he 
toppled  quietly  over  onto  his  side  and  lay  still. 

The  cause  of  the  weak  had  found  a  martyr. 

What  the  mate  would  have  done  next  is  a  little 
doubtful,  and  we  can  only  surmise  that  he  might 
not  have  followed  very  conscientiously  the  admir- 
able rules  laid  down  by  the  Marquis  of  Queensbury, 
for  he  was  out  to  kill.  Mercifully,  however,  Honest 
Pig  ran  forward  and  stood  over  the  fallen  adven- 
turer. 

"That's  enough,  Weames.  I  think  you  are  still 
taking  the  watch,"  he  said  sharply. 

The  mate  shook  himself — scowled  at  his  van- 
quished foe,  and  then  turned  with  a: 

"Aye,  aye,  Captain  Fellowes;"  he  went  back  to 
the  quarter-deck.  Later  he  swore  a  bit  and  rubbed 
his  jaw,  and  then  settled  down  to  cultivate  an  active 


184        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

contempt  for  Duffy;  which  in  the  light  of  future 
events  was  as  well,  although  Duffy  was  in  no  state 
of  mind  or  body  to  realize  it  at  the  moment. 

As  he  lay  there  on  the  deck,  his  senses,  his  head 
and  his  conception  of  himself  as  a  hardened  ad- 
venturer rambled  round  the  four  quarters  of  the 
star-lit  heavens.  He  was  unhappy. 

Presently  he  stirred,  aware  that  he  was  very  wet 
and  that  water  was  being  poured  over  him  by  two 
of  the  men.  Out  of  the  corner  of  his  sound  eye  he 
perceived  Jimmy.  She  was  looking  down  at  him 
with  a  critical,  still  dispassionate  expression.  Coldly 
calculating  was  what  she  intended  it  to  be  and  coldly 
calculating  it  was. 

Duffy  sat  up. 

"Feeling  better?"  she  inquired. 

He  nodded  slowly  and  dragged  himself  up  with 
the  aid  of  his  self-appointed  seconds. 

"Thanks:  I  think — I  can  manage,"  he  said,  and 
passed  his  hand  over  his  eyes.  Then  he  swayed 
again. 

"Hold  up,  son,  hold  up!"  said  one  of  the  men, 
and  between  him  and  his  companion,  Duffy  was 
assisted  down  to  his  cabin. 

Jimmy  followed  the  dismal  procession  and  picked 
up  the  spectacles  of  the  fallen  which  were  glittering 


MILK  185 

at  the  side  of  the  companion  way;  they  were  un- 
broken. 

Duffy  lay  back  in  his  berth  and  dabbed  his  face 
with  a  towel,  conscious  only  of  his  extreme  soreness 
and  the  vivid  picture  that  Jimmy  made  as  she  stood 
in  the  doorway  and  watched  him.  He  wished  most 
heartily  that  she  would  go  away;  he  wanted  to  be 
alone  that  he  might  rearrange  his  scattered  wits  and 
regain  the  dignity  that  should  be  so  obvious  in  a 
hardened  adventurer. 

Then  he  lost  everything  that  remained  of  his  bat- 
tered self-respect.  Honest  Pig  appeared  behind  the 
girl  and  smiled  in  a  friendly,  sympathetic  way;  a 
tribute  indeed  from  a  man  who  kept  his  sympathy 
buried  deep  in  a  strange,  savage  heart  and  very, 
very  rarely  allowed  it  to  show  itself.  Duffy  appre- 
ciated the  smile,  but  he  did  not  appreciate  Honest 
Pig's  words: 

"Give  him  a  clean  up,  Jimmy,  my  devil;  he  looks 
as  though  he  could  do  with  one." 

Jimmy  hesitated  a  moment;  then  remembered  that 
she  would  do  as  much  for  a  dog,  and  nodded.  Hon- 
est Pig  smiled  again,  bade  Duffy  "Good  night,"  and 
went.  Duffy  groaned  helplessly. 

Then  Jimmy  became  coolly  efficient  with  a 
sponge  and  towel:  she  uttered  no  word  unless  it 


1 86        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

was  a  short  direction  that  amounted  to  command 
when  she  wanted  him  to  turn  his  head  or  hold  the 
towel  while  she  bandaged  the  cut  on  his  forehead. 

Taking  one  thing  with  another  and  adding  to 
them  this  extremely  unadventurer-like  experience 
of  having  to  be  bound  up  and  be  sympathized  with, 
Duffy  can  be  excused  the  impression  that  the  world 
was  a  very  horrible  and  highly  disappointing  place 
with  no  proper  respect  at  all  for  its  more  romantic 
inhabitants.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  bandage  that 
hid  the  top  of  his  head  from  his  eyes  up,  he  would 
have  scowled  malignly. 

When  Jimmy  finished  her  task  she  left  him,  feel- 
ing virtuous  but  a  little  disappointed  in  herself.  She 
ought  to  have  sent  for  one  of  the  hands  to  do  this 
first-aid  work  on  a  dirty  little  sneak;  and  from  this 
we  can  see  how  completely  she  had  resumed  her  emo- 
tion concerning  him  after  its  brief  relaxation  in 
Shanghai  during  the  day.  She  had  picked  up  the 
thread  of  her  hate  and  her  contempt  for  him  where 
she  had  dropped  it — the  interval  had  not  changed 
things  at  all. 

Before  she  closed  the  door  on  him,  however,  she 
relieved  her  feelings  a  little  by  saying  in  a  tender 
tone: 

"Good  night,  Mr.  Duff;  you'll  do  nicely  now;  get 


MILK  187 

to  sleep  as  soon  as  you  can.    I  will  send  Evans  in 
with  a  bowl  of  milk — good  night! " 

Milk!  Duffy  growled  into  his  pillow  and  turned 
on  his  side.  Milk!  How  ultimately  adventurous! 

•  •  (     •  •  • 

Presently  Evans  came  and  brought  with  him  the 
milk.  Also  came  the  wiser  and  sadder  kitten,  hold- 
ing its  tail  gallantly  erect  with  a  fine  spirit.  It 
entered  the  cabin  on  three  small  legs,  determined  to 
make  a  show  of  things.  Damn  the  mate!  Of  course 
the  kitten  may  have  come  to  thank  its  fallen  cham- 
pion, but  my  own  feeling  is  that  it  came  in  pursuit 
of  the  bowl  of  milk — however,  it  is  a  matter  of  small 
importance. 

At  all  events  Duffy  dragged  back  the  remainder 
of  his  pride  when  Evans  had  gone,  by  putting  the 
bowl  on  the  floor  and  turning  his  face  to  the  bulk- 
head. The  kitten  lapped. 

Duffy  lay  awake  for  a  while  and  disliked  every- 
thing and  everybody,  thoroughly  ashamed  of  him- 
self. Later  he  fell  into  a  troubled  sleep  with  a  grate- 
ful but  replete  kitten  curled  in  a  warm  and  comfort- 
able ball  upon  his  feet.  Another  day  was  done. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS 

AT  eight  bells  the  next  morning  "The  Rose  of  Wash- 
ington Square"  put  her  nose  on  the  thin  pencil  line 
and  started  for  the  black  dot — Taiho  Shan. 

At  three  bells  Captain  Fellowes  walked  into  his 
chart-house,  and  reached  down  the  log-book  to 
record  this  fact.  On  top  of  the  log-book  was  his 
cash  box.  He  caught  the  handle  to  lift  it  off  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  box  swung  open,  scattering  the 
contents  on  the  table.  For  a  moment  Honest  Pig 
looked  at  the  open  box  and  the  litter  of  papers  in 
surprise.  Then  he  put  the  box  on  the  table  and  with 
trembling  fingers  he  sorted  them  through. 

The  directions  for  finding  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus  were  missing. 

For  a  moment  Honest  Pig  stood  aghast,  his  lips 
working,  his  jaw  limp.  Then  the  man  of  action  pre- 
vailed and  his  jaw  assumed  a  truculent  angle.  He 
bellowed  like  an  angry  bull  at  the  damned  nerve  of 
the  thing. 

Duffy  was  on  the  bridge  when  the  first  burst  of 
its 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  189 

bellowing  issued  from  the  chart-house.  He  hurried 
down  to  it  and  into  its  doorway  to  see  Honest  Pig 
snatching  a  pistol  out  of  a  pigeon-hole. 

"What  the  deuce  is  it?"  asked  Duffy  in  some 
anxiety.  The  war-like  appearance  of  Honest  Pig 
was  alarming. 

"Some  devil  has  burst  in  my  cash-box  and  stolen 
the  directions,"  he  shouted. 

"Who?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  I'm  dam'  well  going  to  find 
out!"  Honest  Pig's  determination  was  a  fine  thing 
to  see;  his  jaw  was  even  more  aggressive. 

"When  were  they  stolen?"  asked  Duffy,  arrang- 
ing this  new  development  in  his  mind. 

"They  were  there  yesterday  morning — and  I 
haven't  had  my  eye  off  the  chart-house  except  dur- 
ing the  night.  Somebody  got  in  then.  My  God,  the 
devil's  cheek  of  it."  Honest  Pig  commenced  bellow- 
ing again,  and  he  made  for  the  open  door. 

Duffy  closed  it  and  stood  there  with  his  back  to  it. 

"Look  here,  Captain  Fellowes,"  he  said  clearly 
and  decisively,  "we're  not  going  to  do  any  good 
looking  for  them  that  way/'  and  he  pointed  to  Hon- 
est Pig's  pistol.  "If  we're  to  find  them  it  will  be 
by  careful  investigation.  I  have  learned  that  work- 
ing in  the  dark,  secretly,  is  far  more  effective  in 


190       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

cases  of  this  kind  than  blustering  about  where  every- 
body can  see  you.  It  puts  them  on  their  guard." 

Duffy  had  dropped  naturally  into  the  character 
of  Vont  Gathers,  sleuth  and  detective. 

Honest  Pig  quieted  down  a  little  to  the  extent 
of  slipping  the  pistol  into  his  pocket. 

"What  do  you  propose  to  do?"  he  asked.  He 
seemed  disappointed  in  Duffy.  The  watch  and  wait 
attitude  did  not  appeal  to  him,  and  he  felt  that 
Duffy's  adventurousness  should  demand  instant  ac- 
tion. 

"First  we  will  hold  a  council  of  war,"  said  Duffy, 
and  he  went  out  to  find  Jimmy.  He  found  her 
lying  in  a  cane  chair  under  the  awning,  reading 
Lao-Tse.  Duffy  approached  her  after  ascertaining 
that  the  deck  was  empty. 

"It's  happened,"  he  said  in  a  whisper.  "Come 
on.  They  have  opened  the  first  round,"  and  he  led 
the  way  into  the  chart-house.  She  saw  the  scattered 
contents  of  the  open  cash-box  and  watched  Duffy 
close  the  door. 

"Weames  has  collared  the  directions,"  he  said,  and 
there  was  a  gleam  of  triumph  in  his  eye. 

"What?"  cried  Honest  Pig.    "Weames?" 

"Weames  has  collared  the  directions,"  Duffy  re- 
peated. "Who  else?" 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  191 

"How  do  you  know?"  asked  Honest  Pig. 

"Nobody  else  would  have  any  object.  I  am  sure 
he  took  them." 

"Yes,"  Jimmy  agreed.  "We  know  he's  quite 
likely  to  have  taken  them,  but  what  can  he  do  with 
them?" 

"Yes,  why  has  he  taken  them?"  Honest  Pig  broke 
in.  "And  how  are  we  going  to  pick  up  the  Treas- 
ure without  them?  We've  got  to  get  them  back,  and 
I'm  going  to  shoot  the  dam'  skunk.  I've  been  look- 
ing for  an  excuse."  His  voice  rose. 

"All  in  good  time,"  said  Duffy,  "but  listen  to  me 
a  moment."  He  seated  himself  at  the  table,  and 
with  the  expert's  mind,  reconstructed  for  the  benefit 
of  the  other  two. 

"Weames  is  a  scoundrel,  we  know  that.  Weames 
is  on  board  this  boat  to  queer  our  pitch.  I  don't 
know  quite  where  he  comes  from,  but  it  doesn't 
really  matter.  Anyway,  he  stole  the  directions  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  handed  them  over  to  a  big,  bearded 
ruffian,  leaving  it  to  the  last  possible  moment  so  that 
they  should  not  be  missed  until  we  were  well  at  sea 
and  far  from  Shanghai." 

"Big,  bearded  ruffian?"  asked  Honest  Pig,  for 
whom  the  reconstruction  of  the  affair  was  moving 
a  little  swiftly. 


i92        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Yes,"  said  Duffy  with  a  frown  at  the  interrup- 
tion. "Jimmy  and  I  saw  him  in  the  grill-room 
where  we  had  lunch  yesterday  in  Shanghai.  Weames 
was  with  him  and  they  were  hobnobbing  hard  about 
something.  This  is  what  it  was." 

Honest  Pig  turned  to  Jimmy  for  confirmation. 

"Yes,  that's  true,"  she  said.  "I'm  beginning  to 
see  what  Mr.  Duff  is  driving  at.  Go  on." 

"Well,"  Duffy  continued,  "Weames  probably  sold 
the  information  about  our  quest  to  the  big  man,  and 
stole  the  directions  for  an  additional  consideration. 
He  must  have  known  the  risk — I  can  see  why  he 
didn't  desert  when  he  did  it.  He  must  have  known, 
too,  that  we  would  suspect  him  before  any  one  else." 
He  looked  puzzled. 

"What  next?"  asked  Honest  Pig. 

"The  big  man  will  take  a  boat  and  the  directions, 
go  to  Taiho  Shan  and  lift  our  jade." 

"The  devil!"  said  Honest  Pig.  "We  must  get 
back  to  Shanghai  and — and " 

"—and  what?"  asked  Duffy. 

Honest  Pig  looked  worried. 

"We  could  cable  Northcote  for  the  directions,"  he 
said. 

"And  get  them,  I  expect,  but  what  use  would  they 
be  if  the  Treasure  has  already  been  lifted?"  Duffy 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  193 

felt  he  had  the  whip-hand  of  the  situation.  He  was 
glad  they  would  not  have  to  cable  the  little  collector. 
It  would  not  seem  very  expert. 

"No,"  he  said,  "we  will  not  go  back  to  Shanghai, 
we  will  get  to  Taiho  Shan  just  as  fast  as  we  dam' 
well  can,  and  before  the  big  man." 

"What's  the  use  of  that,  if  we  haven't  any  direc- 
tions for  finding  the  stuff?"  Honest  Pig  looked  tri- 
umphant. 

"We  have  got  directions,"  said  Duffy,  and  he 
enjoyed  the  dramatic  effect  of  his  words.  Honest 
Pig  bounced  to  his  feet. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  said. 

"I  have  a  copy  of  the  directions,"  Duffy  said 
quietly.  "Mr.  Northcote  gave  it  me  when  I  agreed 
to  superintend  the  lifting  of  the  jade." 

"The  devil  he  did!"  cried  Honest  Pig.  "I  didn't 
know!" 

"No,"  replied  Duffy,  "you  didn't  know.  If  you 
had,  so  would  have  Mr.  Weames.  I  tell  you  I've 
suspected  him  from  the  beginning." 

"Where  are  they?"  asked  Jimmy.  "Are  they 
safe?" 

Duffy  looked  at  her  with  a  slightly  injured  ex- 
pression. 


i94        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Perfectly  safe,"  he  said.  That  a  hardened  adven- 
turer should  run  risks  with  important  documents! 

"Then  I  can  shoot  the  skunk,"  said  Honest  Pig 
in  a  relieved  tone,  and  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket 
for  the  pistol. 

"No,"  said  Duffy  firmly.  "I  am  not  going  to  have 
any  shooting — yet." 

"Whose  ship  is  this?"  demanded  Honest  Pig. 
"Damnation,  are  you  forgetting,  Duffy?" 

"No,  I'm  not!"  said  Duffy.  "But  the  Treasure 
end  of  this  game  is  mine.  Weames  has  put  his  oar 
into  it,  and  he's  mine — he's  part  of  the  Treasure 
game,"  and  he  banged  the  table  to  emphasize  his 
words. 

Honest  Pig  started  to  speak  and  stopped  with  a 
growl,  while  Jimmy  looked  at  Duffy  hard.  For  the 
first  time  in  her  life  she  had  seen  her  father  bull- 
dosed — that  was  the  word — bull-dosed  in  his  own 
chart-house.  And  Duffy  had  done  it — Duffy  who 
had  been  so  licked  the  night  before.  But  Duffy 
thought  nothing  about  it,  he  was  content  that  he 
had  preserved  the  source  of  adventure.  He  felt  he 
owed  something  to  Mr.  Weames  for  his  bringing 
the  big  man  into  the  story  and  increasing  its  adven- 
turous possibilities.  He  was  grateful  to  him. 

"We  must  watch  the  mate — carefully,  and  with- 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  195 

out  arousing  his  suspicions,"  he  said.  "In  the  mean- 
time let  us  see  MacNab  about  a  little  more  steam. 
If  we  can  get  to  Taiho  Shan  twenty-four  hours  ahead 
of  the  big  man,  it  will  be  more  than  we  shall  need." 

Honest  Pig  opened  the  door  and  called  to  one 
of  the  hands: 

"Ask  Mr.  MacNab  to  step  this  way,  if  he  pleases." 
The  man  went  on  his  errand  and  Honest  Pig  turned 
to  Duffy. 

"Am  I  to  talk  to  MacNab,  or  will  you,  young 
man?"  He  spoke  with  a  trace  of  irony  in  his 
voice. 

Duffy  wisely  said  he  wanted  to  think,  and  when 
MacNab  entered  the  chart-house,  he  appeared  to  be 
absorbed  with  a  pair  of  compasses  and  a  chart. 
MacNab  was  wiping  his  face  with  an  oily  rag  and 
swearing  at  the  heat;  he  brought  the  romantic  smell 
of  hot  oil  with  him.  He  sat  in  a  chair  and  looked 
round. 

"It's  hot,  Capt'n  Fellowes,  dam'  hot.  Did  ye 
want  to  see  me?" 

"Yes,  MacNab;  I  want  another  steady  five  knots 
for  the  next  thirty  hours,"  said  Honest  Pig.  "Can 
we  do  it?" 

Mr.  MacNab  gazed  at  him  with  an  aggrieved  ex- 
pression and  said: 


i96        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"What  maur,  what  maur !  Why,  mon,  d'ye  want 
to  lift  them  en j ins  off  their  Ham'  plates?  This  is  no 
record  breaker,  this  boat.  She's  guid,  but  she's  not 
fast." 

"Five  extra  knots  an  hour  mean  everything  to 
us  now,  MacNab.  Can  we  do  it?" 

"Well — it's  a  question  of  the  enjins — I  canna  sit 
on  them,"  said  MacNab.  He  believed  in  steady,  un- 
labored speeds. 

"Those  engines  were  refitted  five  months  ago," 
said  Honest  Pig.  "We  must  have  another  five  knots. 
We  must  have  them!"  he  added  in  a  small  shout. 

"Steady,  mon;  I'm  telling  ye  ye  canna  blow  the 
guts  oot  of  a  set  of  enjins  in  the  middle  of  the 
China  seas  for  the  sake  o'  five  knots.  We're  a  sight 
awa'  fra  Tilbury."  MacNab's  brogue  was  broaden- 
ing. 

Duffy  looked  up  from  the  chart. 

"Well,  will  you  do  your  best  for  us,  Mr.  MacNab? 
There's  been  some  dirty  work  aboard  this  ship,  and 
we're  trying  to  circumvent  it,"  he  said. 

"Dirty  work?"  cried  the  engineer.  "What  dirty 
work?" 

For  a  moment  Duffy  hesitated,  then  he  told  Mac- 
Nab  the  whole  story.  He  saw  that  MacNab  could 
be  obstinate,  but  by  appealing  to  his  Scotch  sense 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  197 

of  straight-dealing,  he  might  squeeze  out  those  extra 
five  knots. 

Mr.  MacNab,  a  stanch  Presbyterian,  saw  the  sit- 
uation, wiped  his  face  again  with  the  oily  rag, 
touched  his  forelock  to  Jimmy,  and  disappeared 
down  the  engine-room  companion.  Presently  the 
squat  funnel  of  "The  Rose"  blackened  the  blueness 
of  heaven  with  an  ever-thickening  belch  of  dirty 
smoke. 

The  speed  crept  up  and  up  until  the  increase 
showed  a  full  five  knots;  here  it  wavered  awhile 
before  dropping  half  a  knot.  At  a  four-and-a-half 
increase  it  remained  steady.  Duffy  took  the  wheel 
and  watched  the  compass  with  an  eagle  eye.  "The 
Rose"  rarely  shifted  half  a  point. 

For  all  Duffy's  injunctions  that  nothing  should 
give  Mr.  Weames  cause  for  alarm  or  suspicion,  the 
mate  could  scarcely  be  expected  not  to  wonder  at 
this  sudden  increase  of  speed.  He  observed  it,  he 
wondered  at  it,  and  the  scowl  on  his  face  deepened 
and  thickened  until  it  was  the  veriest  father  of  all 
scowls. 

Then  he  interviewed  Green,  the  bo'sun;  he  was 
a  particular  friend  of  Green's  and  he  had  little 
difficulty  in  extracting  from  him  the  story  of  the 
council  in  the  chart-house.  He  connected  the  visit 


i98        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

of  Mr.  MacNab  to  that  council  with  the  sudden  in- 
crease in  the  ship's  speed.  His  scowl  became  per- 
manent. 

Before  the  evening  meal  he  went  into  his  cabin 
to  cool  his  interior  economy  with  a  little  whisky, 
and  he  bethought  him  of  his  revolver.  He  slipped 
it  into  his  hip  pocket,  then  as  an  afterthought  took 
it  out  and  inspected  the  chambers.  It  was  unloaded 
and  Mr.  Weames  would  have  sworn  from  the  bottom 
of  his  much  damned  soul  that  it  had  been  fully 
loaded  when  last  he  saw  it. 

He  opened  his  chest  for  some  more  cartridges;  the 
package  was  missing.  Mr.  Weames  stamped  up  and 
down  the  cabin  for  a  moment  in  a  fury  of  rage — 
he  felt  not  only  sold,  but  a  little  afraid.  This  work- 
ing in  the  dark,  when  somebody  other  than  himself 
did  the  working,  was  disquieting  to  a  man  of  his 
ragged,  whisky-sodden  nerves. 

This  problem  of  the  missing  cartridges  puzzled 
him  to  the  extent  of  causing  him  to  forget  the 
whisky.  The  only  place  where  he  could  be  certain 
of  finding  a  revolver  would  be  the  deck-house,  where 
a  small  armory  was  kept  under  Honest  Pig's  watch- 
ful eyes. 

All  through  supper  the  matter  so  troubled  and 
absorbed  his  mind  that  he  did  not  notice  the  air  of 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  199 

tension  that  pervaded  the  main  cabin.  Jimmy  and 
Honest  Pig  watched  him  like  terriers  at  a  rat's  hole. 
Duffy,  had  he  not  foregone  the  meal  to  ensure  "The 
Rose's"  undeviating  course,  might  have  slackened 
that  tension.  It  would  have  aroused  the  suspicions 
of  the  most  guileless  of  arch-angels. 

Immediately  after  the  meal  the  mate  left  the 
saloon,  and  when  the  others  gathered  under  the 
awning  there  was  no  sign  of  him.  Honest  Pig  was 
in  favor  of  a  search  for  him,  but  Duffy  dissuaded 
him. 

"He  can't  do  much  more  mischief,  there's  not 
much  room  for  it.  He  still  thinks  we  know  nothing 
of  the  theft  of  the  directions." 

"Why  has  his  scowl  got  worse  then?"  asked 
Jimmy,  putting  down  Lao-Tse. 

"Bad  whisky,"  said  Duffy,  "or  he's  discovered 
I've  taken  his  cartridges." 

Honest  Pig  looked  at  him. 

"You  took  his  cartridges?" 

"Yes.  I  threw  them  out  of  his  cabin  port  when 
he  went  aft,  after  lunch,"  said  Duffy.  "He's  much 
better  without  them." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Honest  Pig.  He  would  have 
agreed  more  heartily  if  he'd  seen  Mr.  Weames  slip 
into  the  deck-house  fifteen  minutes  before,  and  slip 


200        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

out  a  second  later  with  a  revolver  in  each  side-pocket 
and  a  trouser  pocketful  of  cartridges. 

As  we  have  seen,  Honest  Pig  still  felt  that  Mr. 
Weames  wanted  shooting;  he  had  never  felt  the 
desire  for  instant  and  decisive  action  so  strongly  as 
he  had  in  this  case.  But  if  he  had  seen  Mr.  Weames 
making  his  way  into  the  fo'castle  at  that  moment 
by  a  roundabout  route  that  avoided  the  space  of 
deck  under  the  awning,  that  desire  would  have  over- 
come all  Duffy's  cautious  preaching.  Only  on  very 
rare  and  official  occasions  does  the  officer  of  a  ship 
visit  the  men's  quarters.  The  visit  of  Mr.  Weames 
could  under  no  circumstances  be  termed  official. 
He  remained  in  it  for  a  full  two  and  interesting 
hours. 

When  he  left,  an  observer  in  the  bright  moonlight 
would  have  noticed  a  certain  lack  in  the  mate.  He 
lacked  his  scowl. 

Duffy  lay  awake  till  early  morning,  his  busy  mind 
working  on  a  thousand  plans  and  plots,  turning  over 
all  the  sea  adventure  stories  he  could  remember, 
searching  for  the  next  move.  Many  possible  ones 
presented  themselves  and  were  thoroughly  debated, 
or  summarily  rejected.  By  the  time  sleep  overcame 
him,  he  had  decided  one  thing,  and  that  whatever 


AN  EXTRA  FIVE  KNOTS  201 

the  move,  it  would  be  played  in  the  open,  and  fur- 
ther, it  would  not  be  bloodless.  He  looked  forward 
to  it  with  all  the  adventurer's  eagerness  for  the  ex- 
citing things  of  life. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MUTINY 

BREAKFAST,  which  Evans  had  set  under  the  awning, 
was  early  the  next  morning.  The  sun  had  broken 
through  a  pearly  mist,  turning  the  sea  and  sky  to 
gold.  Duffy  had  just  come  off  his  watch  and  was 
below,  sprucing  up.  Jimmy,  as  she  sat  at  the  table, 
could  hear  him  whistling  cheerfully — it  was  the 
cheerfulness  of  an  adventurer  who  is  about  to  take 
the  spice  of  life. 

Jimmy  had  found  since  their  shopping  expedition 
that  it  was  more  and  more  of  a  task  to  hate  Duffy 
as  she  told  herself  she  should.  His  demonstration 
with  Timson,  his  council  of  war  over  the  missing 
directions  and  furthermore  the  bull-dosing  of  her 
father,  and  lastly  the  subtle  alliance  between  them 
in  the  matter  of  the  mate  and  the  gameness  of  his 
fight  with  him,  had  all  helped  towards  the  building 
of  a  half -a  wakened  admiration  for  him  that  discom- 
forted and  dismayed  her.  It  aroused  a  smoldering 
resentment  in  her  heart  that  he  should  have  won 
that  admiration  with  apparently  no  direct  effort,  a 


MUTINY  203 

resentment  which  she  knew  perfectly  well  was  un- 
just. A  psychologist  would  tell  you  that  it  was 
a  form  of  defense,  a  defense  not  against  him  so  much 
as  against  herself. 

As  she  thought  over  these  things,  Duffy  appeared, 
radiant  and  excessively  cheerful,  and  he  bid  her 
"good  morning"  in  a  cheerful,  friendly  voice.  Also, 
he  complimented  her  upon  the  becoming  effect  of  her 
white  silk  shirt,  breeches  and  suede  top-boots. 

To  her  horror  she  found  herself  blushing,  and  it 
so  upset  her  that  she  forgot  to  snub  him.  Almost 
angrily  she  told  herself  she  did  not  care  whether 
he  liked  her  appearance  or  not.  His  eyes  were 
frankly  admiring — and  she  saw  that  they  were  not 
on  her  clothes.  They  were  on  her  face.  The  blush 
came  again  and  she  blessed  her  father  for  arriving 
at  the  unhappy  moment.  Honest  Pig,  also;  was 
cheerful. 

"Good  mornin',  Jimmy.  Good  mornin',  Duffy!" 
he  cried.  "Inside  three  hours  we  ought  to  sight 
Taiho  Shan  and  then  for  the  Treasure!  Where's 
our  pet  villain?" 

"I  heard  him  in  his  cabin,"  said  Duffy.  "At 
least  I  heard  a  cork  go.  It's  about  the  only  sound 
that  penetrates  the  partition.  Still  want  to  shoot 
him?" 


204        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"I  shouldn't  mind,"  admitted  Honest  Pig,  "but 
we're  pretty  sure  to  have  licked  his  scoundrelly 
friend  with  our  speed.  As  long  as  we  get  the  dam' 
jade  it  doesn't  much  matter  about  the  mate.  Time 
to  deal  with  him  later." 

Jimmy  was  glad  of  the  conversation  that  occupied 
Duffy's  attention.  She  did  not  want  him  to  look 
at  her  like  that;  if  she  could  have  felt  indignant, 
it  might  have  been  different,  but  she  could  not.  She 
demanded  of  herself  the  whereabouts  of  her  inde- 
pendence; it  seemed  sadly  lacking  this  morning. 

Evans  came  with  a  creation  from  the  expert  hands 
of  Yen  San,  and  Honest  Pig  eyed  it  joyfully.  In  the 
early  days  of  the  voyage  he  had  held  suspicions  of 
some  of  those  same  creations  until  their  invariable 
tastiness  dulled  his  distrust.  He  now  relied  blindly 
upon  the  artistry  of  Yen  San. 

"Tell  Mr.  Weames  breakfast  is  ready,  Evans," 
he  said. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  mate  appeared — jovial,  no 
scowl  sullying  his  unbeautiful  features,  not  even  the 
ghost  of  a  frown.  The  three  gazed  at  him  in  amaze- 
ment. Not  since  the  days  before  his  night  in  the 
coal  bunker  had  Mr.  Weames  been  so  painfully 
cheerful.  His  good  humor  flowed  from  him  in  an 
endless  stream — he  was  sticky  with  it.  Before  he 


MUTINY  205 

had  been  at  the  table  a  minute  and  a  half  he  had 
made  two  jokes,  bad  jokes  admittedly  they  were, 
but  still  jokes. 

Duffy  felt  a  wave  of  suspicion  float  over  him.  Mr. 
Weames'  cheerfulness  was  suspicious  in  itself,  but 
the  two  jokes  threw  the  matter  far  beyond  suspicion 
in  the  realm  of  certainty.  The  devil  in  Mr.  Weames 
was  uppermost. 

The  mate  directed  most  of  his  cheerfulness  at 
Jimmy;  he  almost  simpered  at  her  and  he  certainly 
ogled  her — like  an  evil  spider  at  a  fly. 

Jimmy  smiled  sweetly  at  him  all  the  time. 

At  the  end  of  the  meal  Honest  Pig  climbed  up 
onto  the  bridge,  Mr.  Weames  disappeared  below, 
while  Jimmy  and  Duffy  remained  under  the  awning. 
For  a  moment  Jimmy  entertained  the  desire  for 
flight,  but  she  could  not  indulge  it  without  letting  it 
appear  obvious — and  therefore  a  sign  of  weakness. 

Duffy  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  half-closed 
his  eyes,  allowing  them  to  rest  on  the  girl's  face. 
It  was  beautiful;  even  at  this  time  when  adventure 
stalked  cheerfully  about  the  ship,  he  no  longer  made 
any  attempt  to  curb  his  heart  with  his  adventurer's 
mind.  He  almost  admitted  that  the  adventure  owed 
half  its  glory  to  this  independent,  dark-eyed  girl 
who  hated  him.  He  no  longer  looked  upon  that 


206        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

hatred  as  something  to  disturb  him;  rather  did  it 
intrigue  him.  He  remembered  now  that  Hawthorne 
firmly  averred  in  one  of  his  books  that  hatred  and 
love  are  kindred  emotions,  and  are  by  their  very 
difference,  yet  sameness  of  essence,  transmutable. 

Of  the  process  Duffy  knew  nothing  and  indeed 
cared  less;  he  was  a  patient  soul,  as  we  have  seen 
before. 

Jimmy  realized  the  scrutiny  after  a  moment  and 
said  almost  fiercely: 

"Don't  look  at  me  like  that!" 

"Like  what?"  asked  Duffy,  opening  his  eyes  and 
sitting  up. 

"You  know  perfectly  well  what  I  mean,"  said 
Jimmy.  She  felt  she  had  not  helped  herself  very 
much  by  her  outburst  and  she  changed  the  subject. 
There  was  the  suspicion  of  a  smile  on  Duffy's  lips. 

"Whatever  is  Mr.  Weames  doing?  He  must  be 
playing  some  very  deep  game,"  she  said.  "He's 
obnoxiously  friendly." 

"He  certainly  is,"  said  Duffy. 

"I  should  have  thought  he  would  feel  very  un- 
comfortable and  worried  if  he's  stolen  the  direc- 
tions," she  said.  "He  must  be  afraid  all  the  time 
that  we  will  discover  they  have  gone." 

"One  would  think  so,"  Duffy  agreed.     "But  it 


MUTINY  207 

looks  as  though  he  doesn't  care  very  much  whether 
we  do  or  whether  we  don't.  Even  the  extra  four- 
and-a-half  knots,  which  even  if  they  did  not  tell 
him  we  knew  what  he  was  up  to,  would  put  the 
'wind  up'  him  as  far  as  his  big  friend  is  concerned. 
It  must  have  queered  his  calculations.  Actually  I 
believe  he  knows  we  have  discovered  the  theft,  in 
which  case  our  extra  speed  shows  we  can  do  without 
the  directions  he's  stolen.  But  if  that  is  so  he  doesn't 
appear  to  worry." 

They  were  silent  for  a  while,  then  Duffy  rose, 
found  Jimmy  her  volume  of  Lao-Tse,  and  went  be- 
low to  his  cabin. 

There  he  took  Gilbert  out  of  his  case,  fitted  the 
magazine  and  slipped  him  into  his  hip  pocket.  Then 
he  returned  to  the  deck.  He  had  provided  for  emer- 
gencies after  the  manner  of  a  true  adventurer. 

For  the  next  hour  he  studied  the  beauty  of  Jimmy 
with  great  esthetic  satisfaction' to  his  spirit. 

At  five  bells  the  starboard  horizon  assumed  a 
hazy  line,  like  a  hair  on  the  clean  edge  of  it.  At 
seven  bells  "The  Rose  of  Washington  Square"  hove 
to  in  a  small  lagoon  and  Taiho  Shan  lay  within  a 
cable's  length. 

The  island  that  had  held  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus  in  its  lonely  keeping  through  the  weary 


208        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

years  was  a  dot,  a  small  dot,  in  the  midst  of  a  blue 
infinity.  It  was  no  bigger  than  its  name,  and  barer 
than  the  barest.  Three  trees  on  the  edge  of  a  low 
cliff  and  a  few  scrubby  patches  of  grass  throve 
thinly  in  the  sandy  soil,  attempting  vainly  to  give 
the  impression  of  vegetation. 

It  was  an  unromantic,  desolate  spot. 

Duffy  stood  on  the  bridge  and  looked  at  it,  Jimmy 
and  Honest  Pig  stood  by  his  side,  the  crew  lined 
the  rail,  and  they  all  looked  at  it.  The  thoughts 
that  passed  through  their  minds  varied  consider- 
ably. 

We  will  examine  Duffy's — it  is  his  adventure.  To 
begin  with  he  was  not  disappointed  with  Taiho  Shan. 
It  looked  as  a  truly  romantic  island  should  look 
— unromantic;  it  would  fulfil  all  the  expectations  he 
held  of  it. 

But  one  point  troubled  his  expert  mind  which  did 
not  concern  Taiho  Shan  so  much  as  the  quest  of  its 
Treasure.  This  was  the  point:  trouble  in  all  the 
best  adventures  invariably  comes  some  time  before 
the  actual  climax;  trouble  should  attend  the  whole 
business  from  the  raising  of  the  curtain  to  the  grand 
finale.  True  in  this  case,  Duffy  admitted  the  direc- 
tions for  finding  the  Treasure  had  been  stolen,  but 
as  trouble  from  the  adventurer's  point  of  view,  it 


MUTINY  209 

had  been  overcome  too  easily  by  the  simple  expedi- 
ent of  possessing  another  copy  of  those  directions. 

And  now,  to  all  appearances,  the  actual  lifting 
of  the  jade  was  to  be  but  a  matter  of  time  and  a 
certain  amount  of  energy  in  the  hot  sun.  Duffy 
frankly  wanted  trouble.  To  be  able  to  carry  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus  in  safety  to  the  little  col- 
lector with  the  flag  of  success  flying  from  the  mast 
through  evil  plots  and  bloodthirsty  efforts  on  the 
part  of  rival  adventurers,  would  give  his  future 
standing  as  an  adventurer  a  sound  foundation.  As 
a  qualification  it  would  be  invaluable. 

Duffy  wanted  trouble,  and  he  got  it — they  all 
got  it. 

It  came  in  the  shape  of  Mr.  Weames,  standing  on 
the  roof  of  the  deck-house,  his  legs  firmly  apart, 
with  a  pistol  in  each  hand. 

He  drew  attention  to  himself  by  flicking  a  piece 
out  of  the  wheel  with  a  bullet. 

At  the  crack  of  the  shot,  the  three  on  the  bridge 
swung  round  and  beheld  the  piratical  figure. 

"Stick  'em  up!  Stick  'em  up,  damn  you!"  yelled 
the  mate. 

There  was  a  second's  breathless  silence  and  hesi- 
tation; then  Honest  Pig,  his  face  distorted  with  rage, 
slowly  lifted  his  hands.  Jimmy  raised  hers.  They 


210        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

were  both  unarmed  and  completely  taken  by  sur- 
prise. 

Duffy,  on  the  other  hand,  was  armed  and,  apart 
from  the  suddenness  of  Mr.  Weames'  intervention, 
unsurprised.  He  had  hoped  for  something  of  this 
kind,  and  his  previous  disappointment  vanished. 
For  a  moment  he  thought  of  Gilbert  waiting  in  his 
hip  pocket,  vicious  and  deadly,  itching  to  be  drawn 
by  his  owner's  expert  hand  and  used  before  the 
mate  could  even  see  his  flash.  Duffy,  by  some  ef- 
fort of  will,  resisted  the  temptation  to  be  expert. 

In  the  first  place  he  might,  by  an  unlikely  error 
of  judgment,  only  wound  Mr.  Weames,  in  which 
case  the  mate  would  go  down — but  he  would  go 
down  shooting.  Jimmy  was  too  close  to  him  for 
Duffy  to  run  the  risk  of  that  happening. 

In  the  second  place  a  glitter  down  on  the  left 
caught  his  eye  and  he  turned  his  head  slightly. 
The  glitter  came  from  a  pistol,  held  in  the  unwav- 
ering hand  of  Green,  the  bo'sun.  It  covered  the 
bridge.  Every  man  of  the  hands  held  a  weapon  of 
some  sort — an  iron  bar,  a  marlin-spike,  and  in  some 
cases  a  knife. 

It  had  all  the  appearances  of  a  well-staged  and 
orthodox  mutiny. 

Duffy  was  satisfied;  he  lifted  his  hands  above 


MUTINY  211 

his  head  in  the  breathless  silence.  Then  Honest 
Pig  found  his  rage-quivering  voice  and  spluttered: 

"What  the  hell,  Weames?  What  the  hell?"  And 
he  bounced  a  little  in  his  impotent  rage. 

"Keep  still,  dam'  you,  keep  still!"  said  the  mate. 
"I'd  drill  you  without  a  second  thought,  you  dam' 
slave-driver.  We're  sick  of  your  bullyin'  ways!" 

"It's  mutiny,  that's  what  this  is!  Mutiny  on 
high  seas!"  yelled  Honest  Pig.  "My  God,  I'll  have 
you  all  strung  up  for  this! " 

"You  won't  be  in  a  position  to  string  anybody 
up,  Captain  Fellowes,"  said  the  bo'sun.  "We  will 
deal  with  you  all  right,  not  'arf  we  won't." 

The  hands  murmured  blasphemous  agreement. 

"Is  MacNab  in  this?"  asked  Honest  Pig  of  the 
mate,  ignoring  the  bo'sun. 

"He  was,  up  to  a  few  minutes  ago,"  answered 
Mr.  Weames.  "But  he  wouldn't  listen  to  reason 
until  Smith  persuaded  him — with  a  piece  of  steel 
piping.  Smith  says  he  can  run  the  engine-room, 
so  we're  all  right  there.  Good  man,  MacNab;  I'm 
sorry  he  was  so  obstinate." 

"Oh,  the  devils!"  Jimmy  said  between  her  teeth. 
"The  devils!" 

Duffy  scowled;  he  might  have  stopped  things 
earlier,  but  then  he  might  have  made  them  worse 


212        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

by  moving  too  soon.  He  could  not  tell.  He  had 
held  a  great  liking  for  the  little  Scotch  engineer. 

"Now,"  said  the  mate,  "come  off  that  bridge,  the 
three  of  you,  and  get  into  the  chart-house;  move 
sharply  and  keep  those  hands  up!  I  don't  want 
any  more  deaths.  We  can  call  one  an  accident,  but 
four  accidents  look  fishy — but  I  wouldn't  think  twice 
if  you  started  foolin' !  Come  on !  Move ! " 

They  moved,  Duffy  contriving  to  lead  the  way 
so  that  he  was  first  inside  the  chart-house.  The 
moment  he  was  round  the  door  he  slipped  Gilbert 
out  of  his  pocket  into  the  top  of  his  boot.  He  did  it 
with  remarkable  speed  and  lack  of  unnecessary 
movement.  No  one  perceived  it;  not  even  Jimmy, 
who  was  following  directly  behind  him. 

Duffy  thanked  heaven  that  foresight  is  an 
adventurer's  first  essential,  for  Mr.  Weames  and 
the  bo'sun  followed  them  into  the  chart-house,  and 
while  the  mate  kept  his  pistols  on  them,  the  bo'sun 
ran  his  hands  over  their  pockets.  From  Honest  Pig 
he  took  a  sheath-knife  and  from  Duffy,  Gilbert's 
spare  magazine;  it  did  not  seem  to  strike  him  as 
strange  that  the  magazine  should  be  alone,  and  he 
made  no  additional  search  for  the  pistol  to  which  it 
belonged.  Green  seemed  to  be  a  trusting  fellow  for 
a  mutineer,  and  Duffy  observed  his  lack  of  thor- 


MUTINY  213 

oughness  with  a  smile  of  contempt.  If  ever  he 
played  the  role  of  mutineer,  he  would  play  it  as  it 
should  be  played — with  unceasing  suspicion. 

Mr.  Weames  was  too  occupied  with  telling  Honest 
Pig  what  he  thought  about  him  and  gloating  over 
them  to  notice  the  bo'sun's  carelessness.  He  was 
poisonous,  and  they  were  glad  when  he  and  the 
bo'sun  went  away,  locking  the  door  after  them  and 
leaving  them  alone. 

"Well,"  said  Honest  Pig  with  the  pathetic  air 
of  a  strong  man  worsted  by  cunning.  "This  is  a 
hell  of  a  fine  business.  Why  the  devil  couldn't  you 
have  let  me  shoot  that  skunk  when  I  wanted  to.  We 
wouldn't  be  in  this  mess  now." 

Duffy  accepted  the  rebuke  in  silence. 

"What  is  Mr.  Weames  playing  at?"  asked  Jimmy 
of  the  world  at  large.  "This  mutiny  is  an  excuse 
for  something  or  other." 

There  was  a  long  silence  while  they  watched  two 
of  the  hands  screw  up  the  window  and  place  heavy 
pieces  of  timber  across  it.  These  they  also  screwed 
firmly  home,  rendering  it  impossible  as  a  means  of 
escape. 

"I  think  I  can  see  what  this  means,"  said  Duffy 
slowly.  "My  guess  was  right.  Weames  discovered 
somehow  that  we  knew  the  directions  had  been 


214        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

stolen,  saw  the  extra  speed,  assumed  we  had  a  copy 
of  them  and  were  suspecting  a  rival  attempt  to  lift 
the  jade;  so  he  engineered  the  mutiny  in  order  to 
hold  us  up  until  his  big  friend  arrived.  He  gave 
your  direct  action  methods" — Duffy  turned  to  Hon- 
est Pig — "as  an  excuse  to  the  hands  for  mutiny.  He 
must  have  put  in  a  little  revolutionary  agitating, 
some  time." 

"He  wouldn't  need  to  do  very  much,"  growled 
Honest  Pig.  "That  dirty  crowd  would  as  soon  mu- 
tiny as  play  loyal.  Show  'em  a  little  cash  and 
an  easy  time  and  they'd  not  worry  any  about  the 
chance  of  chokey  when  we  got  home.  We're  some 
way  away,  y'know." 

"That's  so,"  said  Duffy,  and  he  dug  into  his  boot, 
fished  up  Gilbert,  and  slid  him  into  his  hip  pocket. 
Honest  Pig's  admiration  was  good  to  see. 

"Good ! "  he  said.    "Dam'  good ! " 

"Gilbert  will  be  useful,"  said  Duffy.  "I  count 
him  as  a  distinct  asset;  there  are  ten  good  cartridges 
in  his  magazine.  One  can  do  quite  a  lot  of  damage 
with  ten  good  cartridges."  He  almost  smacked  his 
lips. 

"I  wish  I  had  a  gun,"  said  Jimmy,  "and  I 
wouldn't  need  more  than  one  cartridge;  I  could 
get  that  devil  with  it.  I'm  thinking  of  MacNab." 


MUTINY  215 

Her  lips,  usually  full  and  generous,  were  drawn  in 
a  thin  line;  she  looked  very  savage.  Duffy  decided 
that  he  liked  her  like  that. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "we  can't  all  shoot  Mr.  Weames, 
and  we're  not  in  a  position  to  toss  for  the  privilege 
yet.  I'm  going  to  think,"  and  he  went  over  to  a 
bench  by  the  window,  lay  down  on  it  and  closed 
his  eyes. 

Honest  Pig  sat  with  his  head  in  his  hands  and 
occasionally  allowed  a  rumbling  growl  to  tremble  in 
his  throat.  The  angle  of  his  jaw  was  aggressive. 

And  Jimmy  leaned  her  elbows  on  the  table  and 
watched  Duffy  with  dark,  brooding  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  BLOOD  LUST 

AND  so  they  sat,  while  "The  Rose  of  Washington 
Square"  lay  in  the  lazy  lagoon  of  Taiho  Shan  within 
throwing  distance  of  the  Treasure  for  which  she  had 
crossed  the  world.  Her  captain  was  a  prisoner  in 
his  own  chart-house;  his  daughter  and  the  adventure 
specialist  with  him;  the  chief  engineer  was  being 
thrown  like  a  sack  of  coal  out  of  his  own  bunkers 
into  the  shark-infested  sea  with  an  ugly,  gaping  hole 
in  the  back  of  his  skull,  by  a  set  of  scoundrelly 
mutineers,  superintended  by  an  equally  scoundrelly 
mutineer  of  a  mate. 

What  with  one  thing  and  another,  she  was  a  pleas- 
ant ship  at  the  moment,  was  "The  Rose  of  Wash- 
ington Square." 

And  Duffy  lay  there  on  his  bench  and  thought  on, 
and  Honest  Pig  continued  his  growls  at  lessening 
intervals,  while  Jimmy,  tired  of  watching  Duffy  and 
his  mental  processes;  slept  peacefully  in  her  chair, 
her  head  pillowed  in  her  arms. 

216 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  217 

It  was  stifling  in  the  darkened  chart-house  with 
only  a  barricaded  window  to  ventilate  it,  and  by 
lunch  time  they  were  too  hot  to  eat.  When  Evans 
brought  them  a  tray  of  Yen  San's  excellent  food 
with  an  air  of  bravado  that  was  not  convincing, 
(even  though  the  bo 'sun  guarded  the  door)  none 
of  them  fell  on  it  with  avidity.  Indeed,  Duffy  was 
the  only  one  who  ate  at  all,  but  what  little  nourish- 
ment he  took,  he  took  because  he  felt  that  no  sit- 
uation however  distressing  should  keep  a  hardened 
adventurer  from  his  food.  He  wondered  what  Yen 
San  thought  about  things.  Probably  very  little — he 
was  a  detached  soul,  was  Yen  San. 

While  he  ate,  he  inspected  the  small  part  of  the 
ship  that  was  visible  through  the  crevices  of  the 
barricaded  window.  It  seemed  deserted.  The  mu- 
tineers were  below,  and  from  the  noise  that  came 
from  the  saloon  they  were  celebrating  the  success  of 
their  bid  for  independence. 

"Pity  you  got  that  whisky  at  Shanghai,"  said 
Duffy;  "the  brutes  might  do  anything  with  a  little 
of  it  to  loosen  the  beast  in  them." 

Honest  Pig  growled  again,  and  Jimmy  awoke  from 
the  doze  she  had  slipped  into  after  the  coming  of 
the  food. 

"We  may  be  able  to  do  something  if  they  get 


2i8        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

drunk  enough,"  she  said,  "though  what  I  don't  quite 
see." 

"We  shall  think  of  something,"  said  Duffy  cheer- 
fully. "But  I'm  wondering  when  the  big  man  will 
arrive.  I  don't  suppose  we've  beaten  him  by  more 
than  a  few  hours,  especially  if  he  has  a  moderately 
fast  boat." 

Honest  Pig  growled  again,  but  with  an  angrier 
note. 

"I  wish  I  could  get  my  hands  round  that  mate's 
throat.  I'd  only  want  a  minute  with  him  and  you 
could  keep  your  guns,"  he  said  savagely,  and 
clenched  his  hands  in  front  of  him. 

Duffy  looked  at  them;  they  were  huge  and  knotted 
and  very  capable. 

In  the  silence  that  followed  they  heard  the  voice 
of  Mr.  Weames  raised  in  uproarious  music;  it  must 
have  been  a  psean  of  triumph,  for  Honest  Pig  rose 
and  began  striding  up  and  down. 

Duffy,  whose  thinking  had  apparently  produced 
no  definite  plan,  occupied  himself  by  going  round 
the  chart-house  and  tapping  the  walls.  They  rang 
hollow,  all  of  them,  but  they  offered  no  secret  panels 
or  sliding  doors.  In  one  of  them  he  found  a  small 
knot  hole  that  gave  him,  by  dexterous  gymnastics, 
an  even  smaller  view  of  the  deck  than  did  the  win- 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  219 

dow;  but  it  cheered  him  up  if  it  did  nothing  else. 
He  regarded  it  in  the  nature  of  a  loophole  for  Gil- 
bert's barrel,  though  he  felt  doubtful  whether  he 
could  have  shot  anybody  from  it.  He  pushed  Gil- 
bert's barrel  through  it  as  an  experiment. 

Suddenly  Jimmy  said  in  an  eager  voice: 

"Couldn't  we  blow  away  the  lock  of  the  door 
with  that?" 

"We  could,"  said  Duffy,  "but  we  will  not.  The 
door  is  bolted  on  the  outside.  Also,  I  do  not  want 
to  have  a  scrap  against  such  odds  as  we  are  up 
against.  One  or  maybe  all  of  us  would  get  hurt." 

"Well,  how  are  we  going  to  smash  this  mutiny?" 
asked  Jimmy,  to  whom  apparently  the  prospect  of 
an  odds-on-the-mutineers  fight  did  not  cause  much 
alarm.  Her  voice  was  a  little  plaintive.  She  was 
beginning  to  feel  that  Duffy  had  had  too  much  to 
say  already  in  their  policy. 

"Cunning!"  said  Duffy.  "Cunning  and  a  little 
patience!" 

"And  while  you  are  being  cunning  and  patient 
the  big  man  is  getting  nearer  and  nearer  to  our  jade. 
He  will  increase  the  odds!"  she  said.  "I  expect 
he's  got  another  set  of  murderous  devils  with  him." 

"Good!"  said  Duffy.    "The  more  the  merrier." 

But  for  all  the  apparent  cheerfulness  and  opti- 


220        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

mism  of  a  hardened  adventurer,  he  admitted  to  him- 
self that  things  did  not  look  happy.  Mr.  Weames' 
drunk  was  merely  a  little  more  unpleasant,  he  had 
not  the  grace  to  get  respectably  drunk  and  roll  about 
in  a  state  of  incapability.  It  merely  removed  in- 
hibitions in  him. 

"I  wonder  if  the  scoundrel  has  had  a  snoop  round 
for  your  copy  of  the  directions,"  said  Honest  Pig. 

"Well,  if  he  has  he  didn't  find  them,  but  I  expect 
he's  quite  content  to  wait  for  his  friend,"  Duffy  said. 

"Where  are  they?"  asked  Jimmy. 

"Pasted  on  the  bottom  of  one  of  my  big  boxes 
with  another  piece  of  plain  paper  over  them  to  keep 
them  clean." 

"That's  cute,"  said  Honest  Pig.    "Dam'  cute! " 

And  again  they  fell  silent.  It  seemed  too  hot  to 
talk,  and  it  did  not  seem  much  use  anyway. 

At  the  end  of  another  half-an-hour,  matters  de- 
veloped in  an  unexpected  and  rather  alarming  way. 
There  came  the  sound  of  footsteps  along  the  deck 
and  the  unlocking  and  unbolting  of  the  door. 

Green  appeared,  his  delicately  tinted  face  a  little 
redder,  and  with  him  came  the  distinct  atmosphere 
of  a  conqueror.  He  still  held  the  unwavering  pistol. 

Honest  Pig  growled  at  the  sight  of  him. 

"Go  away,  damn  you,"  he  said. 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  221 

"  'Alf  a  mo',  'alf  a  mo'.  Capt'n  Weames  wants 
to  see  Miss  Fellowes  most  pertickler.  Come  along, 
miss!" 

Duffy  jumped  up. 

"Get  out  of  this  and  tell  your  scoundrelly  Weames 
if  he  wants  to  see  Miss  Fellowes,  he  can  want — 
unless  he  likes  to  come  and  see  her  through  the 
window!  There's  no  harm  in  that,  I  suppose;  it 
would  only  be  unpleasant  for  us  all." 

'  'Ere,  young  man,  not  so  ready  with  your  names 
or  I'll  dot  you  one  on  your  ginger  head.  Come 
along,  miss,"  said  the  agreeable  Green. 

"Look  here "  began  Duffy,  outraged  by  the 

double  accusation  of  youth  and  the  possession  of 
ginger  locks.  He  was  twenty-four  and  his  hair  was 
sandy. 

The  bo'sun  snarled  at  him. 

"Stow  it,  carn't  yer,  stow  it!  Now,  miss,  I  ain't 
got  all  day  to  stand  'ere  and  argue.  It's  'ot,  dam'd 
'ot  in  this  blarsted  sun!"  And  he  waved  the  pistol 
in  an  alarming  way,  while  with  his  free  hand  he 
clutched  Jimmy's  wrist. 

Duffy  and  Honest  Pig  both  moved  forward  to- 
gether, hindered  each  other,  and  before  they  could 
get  clear,  the  bo'sun  had  pulled  the  girl  through  the 


222        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

door  and  slammed  it.  It  had  a  spring  lock — then 
he  shot  the  bolts. 

"Damn!"  said  Duffy;  he  cursed  himself  for  not 
moving  quicker  and  Honest  Pig  for  moving  at  all. 
With  a  little  care  they  might  have  disarmed  the 
bo'sun,  for  he  was  alone  and  the  air  of  a  conqueror 
was  not  all  air;  mainly,  it  was  whisky — with  very 
little  water  in  it. 

"Damn!"  said  Duffy  again.  "I  don't  trust  those 
swine,  they  might  do  anything.  What  the  devil  did 
you  want  to  ship  that  whisky  for?" 

"Jimmy  can  look  after  herself,"  said  Honest  Pig, 
but  the  remark  held  little  of  its  usual  conviction. 

"Can  she?"  said  Duffy  bitterly.  "Oh,  you  swash- 
bucklers, are  you  never  born  with  imaginations?" 

Honest  Pig  looked  a  little  startled.  He  could  not 
remember  being  called  a  swashbuckler  before;  it  was 
a  new  and  disturbing  experience  and  he  wondered 
what  he  ought  to  do  about  it.  But  Duffy  had 
dropped  on  to  the  bench,  his  head  sunk  in  his  hands. 

"I "  began  Honest  Pig  in  a  growl. 

"Shut  up!"  snapped  Duffy  between  his  hands. 

Honest  Pig  shut  up. 

The  next  few  minutes  were  a  little  hell  for  Duffy, 
the  adventurer,  and  he  thought  as  he  had  never 
thought  before. 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  223 

In  many  a  "Dalkeith  Adventure  Novel"  he  had 
watched  the  hero  in  a  similar  situation  and  wondered 
why  his  emotions  were  always  stamped  with  a  tor- 
tured, feverish  dread  and  a  violent  desire  to  throw 
himself  headlong  into  the  very  jaws  of  death  to 
rescue  the  girl. 

But  Duffy  understood  it  now,  and  he  lived  through 
that  same  emotion  with  all  the  vividness  that  a  keen 
imagination  could  bring  into  it.  For  a  moment  he 
told  himself  that  the  emotion  of  the  hero  of  fiction 
is  accounted  for  by  his  being  in  love  with  the  girl — 
surely  he  could  not  be  in  love  with  Jimmy?  Then, 
at  this  critical  point  the  mind  of  the  hardened  ad- 
venturer capitulated  before  the  cry  of  his  very  hu- 
man heart. 

He  admitted  unreservedly  that  he  loved  Jimmy 
with  all  the  strength  of  his  being,  and  he  was  not 
ashamed  of  it.  His  adventurous  mind,  hardened 
though  it  was,  accepted  and  gloried,  positively  glo- 
ried, in  the  all-absorbing  fact. 

He  jumped  to  his  feet,  rushed  to  the  window  and 
looked  through  the  crevice.  The  deck  was  deserted. 
He  stood  quite  still  and  listened,  bidding  Honest  Pig 
do  likewise. 

From  the  saloon  there  came  a  confused  murmur, 
conveying  nothing  to  their  eager  ears. 


224        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"What  are  they  doing?  What  are  they  doing?" 
cried  Duffy  in  his  agony  of  soul. 

We  must  follow  Jimmy  as  the  bo'sun  dragged  her 
through  the  door  into  the  sunshine  of  the  deck. 

If  she  had  not  been  just  as  surprised  as  the  two 
men  left  in  the  chart-house,  she  might  have  wrenched 
herself  free  the  moment  the  mate's  messenger 
clutched  her  wrist,  but  before  she  realized  what  had 
happened  she  found  herself  in  the  blazing  sunlight, 
which,  after  the  half-dark  of  the  chart-house,  almost 
blinded  her. 

She  recovered  from  the  shock  in  a  second  or  so 
and  tried  to  pull  her  wrist  away,  but  the  bo'sun 
tightened  his  grip  and  shot  the  bolts  on  the  chart- 
house  door. 

"It's  no  use  doin'  that,  young  lady,"  he  said, 
"you'll  only  make  yerself  'ot  and  me  'otter.  In 
which  case  I  shall  melt  and  me  'and  'olding  some- 
think  colder  like  will  remain  'ard,  an'  you'll  be 
walkin'  about  the  deck  with  an  'and  on  your  wrist 
an'  no  one  at  t'other  end  of  it! "  And  Green  laughed 
whole-heartedly  at  his  little  joke. 

The  laugh  died  in  a  howl  of  surprised  pain. 
Jimmy  had  bent  quickly  and  buried  her  teeth  in  the 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  225 

bo'sun's  hand — a  thing  which  as  a  rule  she  would 
only  have  done  with  some  one  she  liked. 

His  was  a  hard  hand,  but  not  hard  enough  to 
resist  the  white  teeth;  it  still  held  her  wrist,  how- 
ever. 

The  bo'sun  howled  again  but  in  an  angrier  key; 
he  put  the  pistol  in  his  pocket  and  swung  his  hand 
round. 

It  caught  the  girl  on  the  side  of  the  head,  and 
she  staggered  and  almost  fell.  He  dragged  her  up 
with  a  savage  jerk. 

"Little  vixen!"  he  snarled  at  her.  "I'll  teach 
yer!" 

And  he  hit  her  again.  At  the  second  blow  she 
dropped  forward  on  her  knees,  half-dazed  by  the 
savageness  of  it,  and  she  held  her  lip  between  her 
teeth  to  stop  the  cry  of  pain.  She  would  not  show 
the  bo'sun  he  had  hurt  her.  He  hit  her  once  more 
and  forthwith  dragged  her  to  the  saloon  companion. 
He  thrust  her  down  before  him  and  she  entered 
the  cabin. 

It  was  crowded,  hot,  and  abominably  full  of 
whisky.  Four  men  sprawled  in  various  attitudes 
across  the  long  seat  at  the  side,  and  at  the  table 
were  three  others  and  Mr.  Weames. 

A  shout  went  up  at  the  sight  of  her  and  the  mate 


226        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

rose  unsteadily  to  his  feet  and  made  an  elaborate 
bow  that  lost  nothing  of  its  intended  sarcasm  in  its 
failure  to  be  dignified. 

"Goo'  afternoon,  Jimmy,  my  dear,"  he  said.  "It 
was  very  kind  of  you  to  accept  my  invitation — which, 
I  may  add,  was  also  extended  by  my  friends  here," 
and  he  waved  his  hand  at  the  ruffians,  who  greeted 
his  speech  with  a  shout  of  applause. 

Jimmy  stood  in  front  of  the  table  and  looked  at 
them  steadily.  She  attempted  no  reply. 

"Now,  gentlemen,  our  little  lady's  health,"  the 
mate  went  on,  pleased  with  the  success  of  his  ex- 
tempore greeting.  And  he  grinned  evilly  at  her.  In 
the  look  in  his  eyes  she  saw  the  vicious  hate  she  had 
inspired.  It  was  something  of  a  shock  to  her,  and 
she  began  to  feel  fear,  which  too  was  a  shock.  She 
could  not  remember  having  experienced  the  emo- 
tion before. 

The  mutineers  drank  her  health,  solemnly  and  in 
large  tumblers. 

"Smash  the  glasses!"  came  a  cry  from  one  of 
them,  and  it  was  followed  by  a  succession  of  splin- 
tering crashes  as  they  flung  their  glasses  onto  the 
floor,  adding  to  the  litter  of  empty  bottles  and  bro- 
ken glass.  The  saloon,  usually  so  neat  and  clean, 
was  in  appalling  disorder. 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  227 

"More  glasses! "  shouted  the  mate. 

"Damn  the  glasses!"  some  one  answered  him. 
"What's  the  matter  with  the  bottles?" 

There  was  a  chorus  of  "  'Ere,  'ere's." 

Green  sucked  at  his  bitten  hand  and  scowled  at 
the  girl. 

"That  vixen  bit  me,"  he  said.  "You  ought  to  'ave 
better  taste  in  your  friends,  Capt'n  Weames." 

"Bit  you,  did  she?"  The  mate  laughed.  "You 
should  be  more  careful,  Mr.  Green,  handlin'  high 
explosive!" 

There  was  another  shout  of  laughter. 

"But  she  mustn't  do  that,"  he  continued,  feeling 
that  he  was  at  last  appreciated;  "she  must  pay  a 
forfeit." 

"  'Ere!  'ere,"  shouted  the  men. 

"What  forfeit  do  you  suggest,  Mr.  Green?" 

Mr.  Green  thought. 

"How  would  a  kiss  make  up  for  the  bite?"  sug- 
gested the  mate,  and  he  grinned  again  at  the  girl, 
knowing  how  he  was  torturing  her. 

"Come  along,  my  dear,  give  our  old  friend  Green 
a  kiss,"  he  said  in  a  coaxing  tone  that  barely  con- 
cealed its  undercurrent  of  satanic  pleasure.  The 
question  of  a  kiss  made  clear  his  intention  of  re- 


228        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

venge  for  the  other  little  episode  which  had  centered 
round  the  same  matter. 

The  bo'sun,  smiling  with  satisfaction  at  the  pros- 
pect of  such  a  balm  to  his  injured  hand,  presented 
his  brick-red  face  within  a  few  inches  of  the  firm 
lips. 

With  a  sudden  swing,  Jimmy  smacked  the  brick- 
face  with  the  full  strength  of  her  young  hand.  The 
bo'sun  spun  round  and  clutched  the  table.  As  she 
watched  him  the  girl  was  reminded  of  a  previous 
occasion,  when  she  had  used  the  swing  on  Duffy. 

The  unhappy  result  of  it  on  Mr.  Green  appealed 
to  the  whisky-stimulated  humor  of  the  mutineers, 
and  they  roared  joyously,  drowning  the  swearing 
of  the  bo'sun.  He  caressed  his  burning  cheek  with 
his  unbitten  hand;  no  longer  was  his  cheek  a  delicate 
tint  of  brick-red — it  was  scarlet,  bright  scarlet. 

Mr.  Weames  scowled.  This  last,  although  it 
amused  the  hands,  was  not  in  his  original  pro- 
gram, and  his  vision  of  a  humiliated  Jimmy  was 
lacking  in  substance.  She  looked  virtuously  indig- 
nant and  far  from  humiliated.  The  mate  opened  his 
mouth  to  speak,  but  she  cut  him  short. 

"If  you've  finished,  Mr.  Weames,"  she  said,  "I'll 
go  back  to  the  chart-house.  No  air  at  all  is  a  great 
deal  better  than  the  air  of  a  pig-stye,"  and  she  looked 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  229 

round  the  disordered  saloon.  "Pigs!"  she  added 
clearly. 

The  boisterous  good  humor  of  the  mutineers  came 
to  a  sudden  end  and  the  scowl  of  Mr.  Weames 
deepened  into  a  snarl. 

"You  come  off  the  high  horse,  my  girl,  or  I'll " 

He  searched  for  a  suitable  blood-curdling  threat,  and 
Jimmy  dropped  her  words  neatly  into  the  silence. 

"Dirty  mutineer!"  she  said  dispassionately,  and 
she  looked  at  his  blotched,  ugly,  snarling  face  with 
frank  distaste  and  contempt.  "Dirty  mutineer ! "  she 
remarked  again. 

The  silence  became  if  anything  more  intense  while 
the  mate  found  his  words. 

"Come  here!"  he  shouted,  and  lurched  a  little 
with  the  fury  of  his  outburst.  "Come  here,  I  tell 
you;  damn  your  superior  ways!  Come  here!"  In 
another  moment  he  would  be  screaming  with  rage. 

Jimmy  gazed  at  him,  cool  and  unimpressed.  Her 
serenity  served  only  to  increase  the  man's  drunken 
rage. 

"I'm  going  to  kiss  you,  and  then  I'm  going  to 
cut  that  pretty  face  of  yours  to  ribbons.  Come  here! 
Damn  you!" 

She  stood  quite  still,  and  for  a  moment  the  mate 
stood  there  swaying  to  and  fro,  his  arms  low  at  his 


230        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

sides,  the  hands  crooked  and  menacing.  Then  in  a 
staggering  rush  he  made  for  her,  a  stream  of  pro- 
fanity pouring  from  his  lips  in  a  shrill  scream.  He 
was  beastly  mad. 

Jimmy  met  the  charge  with  the  heel  of  her  suede 
mosquito  boot;  the  mate  ran  into  it,  and  caught  it 
on  his  shin-bone,  just  below  the  knee,  which  is  the 
most  painful  of  all  the  painful  places  in  which  a  man 
can  be  kicked.  Jimmy  had  learned  it  in  Peru  from 
a  General  of  that  republic.  He  had  firmly  impressed 
upon  her  that  nothing  on  two  feet  can  take  it  and 
remain  on  them.  The  mate  could  not.  He  howled 
piercingly  and  fell  on  his  face,  cutting  his  lip  on  the 
base  of  a  broken  bottle,  his  hands  clawing  the  floor. 

The  girl  did  not  wait;  she  turned  and  fled  up  the 
companionway,  with  the  cry  of  a  human  wolf-pack 
behind  her — and  fear,  black  fear  in  her  heart.  She 
had  a  dim  idea  of  what  she  had  set  loose. 

She  reached  the  chart-house  door  as  the  first  of 
the  pack  ran  up  onto  the  deck,  and  with  frantic 
hands  she  hammered  on  the  door. 

"Daddy,  daddy,  they're  going  to  kill  me!"  she 
cried,  and  kicked  at  the  panels;  then  she  saw  the 
bolt  at  the  top  of  the  door.  She  pulled  at  it  with 
trembling  fingers.  It  would  not  move. 

There  was  an  answering  cry  from  within  and  a 


THE  BLOOD  LUST  231 

heavy  body  flung  itself  against  the  other  side  of  the 
door. 

"Together!"  said  Duffy  to  Honest  Pig,  and  they 
flung  themselves  again.  The  door  barely  shivered, 
it  was  oaken  and  heavy,  built  to  withstand  fifty  years 
of  wind,  storm  and  sun.  Had  it  opened  outward 
they  might  have  snapped  the  lock  and  the  bolts,  but 
it  opened  inward,  and  the  jamb  was  as  oaken  as  the 
door. 

"We've  got  to  get  out!"  Duffy  cried,  and  Honest 
Pig  rumbled  in  his  throat. 

By  this  time  the  mutineers  were  pouring  onto 
the  deck,  and  among  them  Jimmy  saw  the  mate, 
his  chin  covered  with  blood,  a  wicked  knife  in  his 
hand.  He  came  at  a  hobbling  run,  snarling. 

She  left  the  door  and  ran  round  the  deck-house; 
clearing  the  hatch-way,  she  made  a  rush  for  the 
quarter-deck. 

The  pack  gave  tongue — the  blood  call — at  the 
sight  of  her,  and  in  the  sound  came  a  hand  that 
clutched  at  her  heart.  A  cold  hand  of  numbing 
terror,  the  terror  of  the  hare  with  the  dog's  breath 
warm  at  its  side. 

She  cleared  in  her  run  the  short  flight  of  steps 
up  to  the  quarter;  on  the  deck  she  turned  and  saw 
them  streaming  in  a  long  line  behind  the  mate, 


232        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

some  twelve  of  them,  each  as  primitive  as  primordial 
man  with  all  but  the  brute  stripped  from  them. 
The  blood-lust  in  their  eyes — she  could  almost  feel 
their  teeth  tearing  her  flesh.  How  long  could  she 
hope  to  stand  against  that  raging,  maddened  crowd? 

The  mate  reached  the  steps  and  this  time  the  toe 
of  the  girl's  boot  met  his  face:  he  dropped  back- 
wards into  the  crowd  that  had  formed  behind  him. 

"My  game!"  he  said  between  his  bleeding  lips, 
"my  game !  Let  me  up ! " 

They  helped  him,  and  he  clambered  up  the  steps 
again,  slashing  in  front  of  him  with  his  knife. 

Jimmy's  last  breath  of  fight  went  out  of  her  of  a 
sudden;  the  strain  was  too  heavy  even  for  her  stub- 
born spirit.  The  mate  got  past  her  boot  and  was 
standing  on  the  deck,  mouthing  and  triumphant,  his 
small  black  eyes  gleaming  with  the  red  light  of 
murder.  It  was  a  maddened,  insensate  beast  that 
clutched  for  her;  no  man. 

And  as  the  human  fingers  of  it  clutched,  Jimmy 
sank  to  her  knees,  her  hands  before  her  eyes.  She 
screamed  twice,  while  the  mate  stood  gloating  and 
snarling  down  on  her — wholly  triumphant,  the 
quarry  at  his  mercy. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS 

WHEN  Duffy  and  Honest  Pig  realized  the  futility 
of  bruising  themselves  on  the  chart-house  door,  and 
the  coolness  of  the  hardened  adventurer  returned 
to  Duffy,  they  held  a  hurried  consultation. 

"She's  running  for  it,"  said  Duffy,  with  his  ear 
to  the  door,  "and  those  devils  are  coming  up  the 
companion.  What  in  the  world  can  she  have  done 
to  them?" 

"God  knows,  I  don't,"  said  Honest  Pig,  "but 
we've  got  to  get  out  and  see.    What  about  your  gun; 
can't  you  jigger  this  lock?" 

"What  about  the  bolts?" 

"I'm  thinking  about  my  little  devil,"  Honest  Pig 
said.  "She's  in  a  hell  of  a  hole!" 

"Do  you  think  I  don't  know  that?"  asked  Duffy, 
and  he  clenched  his  hands.  "And  we're  going  to 
get  her  out  of  it,"  he  added  in  the  tone  of  one  who 
has  been  repeating  a  sentence  to  his  subconscious 
mind. 

The  noise  of  shouting  and  of  stamping  feet  roared 
233 


234  THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 
across  the  length  and  breadth  of  "The  Rose/'  and 
the  lonely  air  of  Taiho  Shan  echoed  and  reechoed 
with  it.  Duffy  sweated  the  agony  of  suspense,  and 
he  glanced  at  the  four  walls  of  the  chart-house  with 
angry  eyes.  Four  walls — what  were  four  walls? 

Then  his  glance  fell  on  the  tortoise  stove  in  the 
corner,  and  he  saw  that  the  chimney  piping  went 
out  through  the  roof.  He  remembered,  then,  the 
short  length  of  it  outside  that  carried  the  smoke 
clear.  The  piping  was  about  six  inches  in  diameter 
and  ran  through  a  plate  of  galvanized  iron  fixed  in 
the  boarding  of  the  roof.  The  plate  was  circular  and 
about  eighteen  inches  across. 

Duffy  flung  himself  across  the  chart-house  and 
wrenched  away  the  lower  length  of  piping,  and  a 
shaft  of  brilliant  sunshine  pierced  the  darkness  like 
a  golden  stream. 

"Cute!"  said  Honest  Pig,  who  saw  his  object. 
"Dam'  cute!" 

Duffy  stood  on  the  stove  and  examined  the  result 
of  his  inspiration. 

The  iron  plate  was  bolted  to  the  roof  with  four 
stout  bolts,  the  nuts  on  the  inside,  while  about  a 
foot  of  piping  still  remained  which  ran  through  the 
plate  and  into  the  outer  world.  Duffy  grasped  one 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      235 

of  the  nuts  between  his  thumb  and  forefinger,  and 
twisted — it  remained  tight  and  immovable. 

"Damn ! "  he  said,  more  from  excitement  than  dis- 
appointment. "Spanner ! "  he  snapped  down  at  Hon- 
est Pig  who  was  bouncing  about  below.  Action,  the 
adventurer's  soul-mate,  had  replaced  the  torture  of 
inaction. 

"Spanner?  Spanner?  I  think  I've  got  a  span- 
ner," and  Honest  Pig  dragged  the  drawers  of  the 
table  to  the  floor  and  upset  them.  He  groped  for  an 
age-long  minute  in  the  half-dark. 

"Buck  up!"  said  Duffy  at  last.  The  blood-call 
of  the  human  wolves  was  sounding  from  the  other 
end  of  the  ship. 

"I  can't  see  the  dam'  thing,"  said  Honest  Pig. 

Duffy  jumped  down  and  went  to  his  assistance, 
and  for  another  age-long  minute  they  groped  to- 
gether among  the  odds  and  ends  of  tackle,  tools  and 
papers. 

"Got  it!"  said  Honest  Pig  at  last. 

Duffy  snatched  it  from  him  without  a  word  and 
clambered  back  onto  the  stove.  After  a  seeming 
year  of  fiddling  he  obtained  the  right  span  and 
started  to  work  on  the  first  nut.  It  unscrewed 
reluctantly — the  second  moved  more  easily. 

In  the  middle  of  unscrewing  the  third  he  heard 


236       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Jimmy's  first  scream;    it  sent  a  thrill  of  terror 
through  him,  and  his  heart  pounded  madly. 

"I'm  coming/'  he  said  aloud  to  himself,  "I'm 
coming!  Oh,  the  devils,  the  devils;  ten  cartridges, 
ten  lives  if  they've  hurt  her.  Oh,  the  devils!  And 
in  the  stomach,  every  dam'  one  of  them;  they  die 
longer  that  way,  screaming.  Jimmy,  Jimmy,  give  me 
three  seconds!" 

The  third  nut  dropped  on  the  stove  with  a  clatter. 
As  he  gripped  the  fourth,  the  second  scream  came; 
it  rang  endlessly  in  Duffy's  ears.  The  fourth  nut 
dropped  and  with  a  strong  push  he  slid  the  iron 
plate  a  couple  of  inches.  Then  he  worked  the  length 
of  piping  out  of  it,  and  placing  both  hands  against 
the  edge,  shoved  it  along  the  roof. 

"I'm  out,"  he  called  down  to  Honest  Pig;  "I'm 
out!" 

And  with  a  big  effort  he  worked  his  head  and 
shoulders  through  the  hole  and  in  a  second  was 
standing  on  the  chart-house  roof,  blinking  in  the 
glare.  Then  he  slipped  Gilbert  out  of  his  hip  pocket. 

The  mutineers  were  gathered  below  the  quarter- 
deck, and  so  engrossed  were  they  in  the  drama  going 
on  above  that  they  did  not  see  Duffy  behind  them. 
The  roof  of  the  chart-house  formed  an  admirable 
vantage  ground  from  the  point  of  view  of  vision; 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      237 

there  was  nothing  between  it  and  the  quarter-deck 
save  the  hands,  who  were  on  a  lower  level.  Duffy 
felt  he  would  be  able  to  command  the  situation  from 
it — and  the  sight  that  met  his  eyes  showed  him  the 
full  necessity  for  that  commanding. 

Mr.  Weames,  or  rather  what  his  own  hatred  and 
the  whisky  had  made  him,  was  sitting  on  the  bar 
of  a  hand- winch. 

Across  his  knee  was  Jimmy,  her  slim  body  bent 
back  in  a  torturing  position;  with  one  hand  the 
mate  had  pinioned  her  arms  behind  her,  while  with 
the  other  he  held  the  wicked-looking  knife,  glittering 
and  flashing  as  it  moved  to  and  fro  in  the  sun. 

The  girl's  face,  usually  so  warm  in  coloring,  was 
dead  white;  even  the  red  lips  were  pale,  the  eyes 
wide  and  staring  with  horror. 

Duffy  realized  that  he  had  broken  into  the  world 
of  affairs  at  the  critical  point — another  five  or  six 
seconds  and,  well,  ten  mutineers  would  have  been 
squirming  in  the  waist  of  the  ship. 

Then  clear  across  the  intervening  space  came  the 
mate's  voice,  harsh  and  trembling  with  triumph, 
aware  of  the  watching,  appreciative  audience  below. 

"Now,  my  little  Jimmy,  I  am  going  to  kiss  you! 
D'ye  hear?"  he  said.  "And  then — and  then,  my 
beautiful  devil,"  his  voice  lingered  caressingly  over 


238        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

his  next  words:  "Then  I  am  going  to  carve  my  name 
on  your  face!"  and  Duffy  saw  him  snarl,  lifting  his 
lip  like  a  dog. 

There  was  a  murmur  from  the  listening  pack. 
This  was  indeed  devilment,  and  their  appreciation 
grew;  their  leader  was  a  man — be  damned  if  he 
wasn't. 

"Now!"  said  the  mate,  and  he  forced  the  strain- 
ing head  further  back  as  his  bleeding  mouth  found 
hers.  For  a  moment  the  two  figures  remained  still 
and  tense,  then  the  white  one  twisted  round  and 
the  mate  raised  his  head,  leaving  the  white  skin 
stained  with  blood. 

"Dam'  good! "  he  said.  "And  now  for  that  pretty 
face!" 

Duffy  held  Gilbert  in  a  hand  that  trembled,  but 
with  an  effort  of  will  he  called  to  his  aid  the  icy 
coolness  of  an  adventurer  and  raised  the  pistol,  short 
and  vicious  and  deadly.  Even  as  he  did  so  Jimmy 
saw  him,  and  a  faint,  weary  smile  wreathed  her 
stained  lips — she  knew,  why  or  how  God  knew,  that 
he  would  come.  She  watched  the  slowly  descending 
knife  almost  with  interest.  It  would  not  touch  her 
cheeks. 

It  did  not.     It  clattered  on  the  deck  as  Mr. 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      239 

Weames  screamed  and  slid  off  the  winch,  a  bullet 
in  the  elbow  of  his  right  arm.  Jimmy  lay  still  where 
he  had  dropped  her — in  a  dead  faint. 

Duffy  had  noticed  with  relief  that  the  mate  car- 
ried no  pistol,  or  apparently  did  not.  He  might  have 
one  in  his  left-hand  pocket;  so  to  make  sure  he 
should  not  reach  it,  Duffy  shot  him  again — in  his 
left  elbow — with  great  rapidity.  As  swiftly  he  shot 
the  bo'sun,  who  was  on  the  edge  of  the  startled  crowd, 
through  the  center  of  his  brick-red  countenance. 

The  only  mutineers  who  carried  firearms  were 
accounted  for — and  it  was  more  for  the  benefits  that 
would  arise  from  demonstration  that  prompted  Duffy 
to  shoot  two  more  men,  the  first  in  the  leg,  the  second 
in  the  wrist. 

That  settled  the  matter  completely. 

The  mutiny  was  over,  and  a  crowd  of  thoroughly 
sobered,  thoroughly  frightened  men,  huddled  for  a 
moment  in  the  lee  scuppers,  then  broke  and  scat- 
tered. 

"Cowards,"  remarked  Duffy  to  himself,  and  he 
turned  to  see  Honest  Pig  trying  to  wedge  himself 
through  the  circular  hole. 

"Is  she  all  right?"  he  asked  with  what  breath 
he  had  not  squeezed  out  of  himself. 


240        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Yep,"  said  Duffy  briefly.  "Fainted  on  the  quar- 
ter-deck; I'm  just  going  over.  I'll  open  the  door 
for  you." 

He  put  Gilbert  in  his  pocket,  lowered  himself 
onto  the  deck  by  his  hands,  slipped  him  out  again  and 
made  his  way  to  the  bo'sun.  From  his  body  he  took 
the  key  of  the  chart-house  and  a  revolver,  and  re- 
turning, let  Honest  Pig  into  the  world  again.  He 
gave  him  the  bo'sun's  revolver. 

"You'd  better  go  and  kick  what  little  fight  there 
may  be  left  in  them  out  of  the  brutes.  They're 
hiding  around  somewhere,"  he  said.  "I'll  see  to 
Jimmy." 

"Right!"  said  the  captain  of  "The  Rose,"  who 
admitted  no  man  his  master;  and  he  went  about 
the  business  of  rearranging  the  muddled  ideas  of  his 
crew  with  the  concentrated  vigor  of  four  hours'  en- 
forced rest  in  a  darkened  chart-house,  and  his  sea- 
boots — size  eleven. 

After  a  glance  round  to  see  that  there  were  no 
mutineers  about  who  not  having  witnessed  his  dem- 
onstration still  felt  the  call  of  independence,  Duffy 
walked  up  the  companion  onto  the  quarter-deck. 

He  watched  the  mate  squirming  with  almost 
complacent  eyes,  but  under  the  veneer  of  adventur- 
ous coolness,  he  could  not  put  from  his  mind  the 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      241 

fact  that  within  the  last  two  minutes  he  had  killed 
one  man  and  wounded  three  more.  The  shooting 
in  Aden  he  had  done  in  the  dark  and  the  heat  of 
battle.  There  was  something  vaguely  disturbing 
in  this  almost  deliberate  killing  and  wounding  in 
the  bright  light  of  midday.  He  took  two  pistols 
from  the  pockets  of  the  unfortunate  Mr.  Weames, 
and  walked  over  to  Jimmy  who  still  lay  on  her  side 
where  she  had  fallen.  To  free  his  hands  he  placed 
Gilbert  in  his  hip  pocket  and  disposed  of  the  mate's 
revolvers  in  the  tops  of  his  mosquito  boots. 

He  bent  down  and  slipped  his  arms  under  the 
girl's  shoulders  and  lifted  her  gently.  She  stirred 
a  little  and  sighed,  then  her  head  drooped  patheti- 
cally. With  great  care  he  picked  her  up  in  his  arms 
and  carried  her  across  the  decks  to  the  shade  of  the 
awning.  He  put  her  in  her  cane-chair,  propping 
her  up  with  cushions. 

She  lay  motionless,  her  cheeks  still  white  but  a 
vague  color  and  life  slowly  appearing  in  them,  and 
Duffy  sat  and  watched  with  anxious  eyes — he 
thought  of  getting  her  a  little  whisky  but  decided 
that  she  might  come-to  while  he  was  away,  and  when 
she  did  he  wanted  to  be  with  her,  so  he  contented 
himself  with  dipping  his  handkerchief  in  a  bucket  of 


242        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

sea-water  and  bathing  her  face  and  blood-stained 
lips. 

Duffy's  mind  was  chaotic  as  a  long,  inconsequent 
stream  of  visions  and  memories  of  Jimmy  ran 
through  it  in  bewildering  disorder.  Jimmy's  bare 
feet  as  they  came  down  the  companionway  the 
third  morning  of  the  voyage — his  first  sight  and 
impression  of  her  with  all  her  beauty  and  freshness. 
Then  the  shooting  match — the  wild  night  in  Aden, 
and  inevitably  the  memory  of  the  consequences— 
her  blazing,  furious  eyes  as  she  swung  round  on  him 
and  called  him  a  dirty  little  sneak — then  her  dis- 
posal of  Mr.  Weames  in  the  coal  bunker — and  a 
thousand  other  little  things  came  before  his  eyes 
that  had  helped  to  build  up  in  his  mind  the  wonder 
and  delight  of  this  girl  he  loved. 

He  wondered,  too,  what  she  would  say  to  him; 
would  she  still  hate  him?  He  felt  that  if  she  did 
his  patience  would  be  hard  put  to  it,  for  although 
towards  most  things  in  life  that  patience  was  almost 
infallible,  Duffy  recognized  how  insistent  was  this 
new  emotion  that  had  changed  the  world  for  him. 
He  was  an  adventurer,  surely  hardened,  but  this 
change  gave  adventure  a  new  significance.  Actually 
he  was  a  true  adventurer. 

Then  he  thought  of  Mr.  Weames  with  the  knife 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      243 

slowly  descending  on  its  sacrilegious  errand,  and  he 
remembered  his  snarl,  the  snarl  of  a  dog.  In  an 
instant  memory  threw  a  vivid  picture  before  his 
eyes;  the  summary  exit  of  his  secretary  from  the 
little  collector's  house  on  the  morning  of  Duffy's 
first  interview.  Weames  was  that  secretary,  emis- 
sary of  the  Prussian  firm  of  oriental  art  dealers! 

Duffy  saw  the  whole  thing  and  a  great  many 
details  and  motives  became  clear  in  his  mind.  But 
chief  of  them  all  was  the  motive  for  the  mutiny. 
It  was  very  likely  that  the  mate's  big  friend  in  the 
Shanghai  hotel  was  the  Prussian  firm's  Chinese  agent 
—Weames  had  been  commissioned  to  steal  the  direc- 
tions somehow  and  send  them  to  the  big  man,  who 
would  be  on  the  spot  to  clear  the  jade.  He  failed 
to  steal  them  in  London,  wangled  the  position  of 
mate  on  board  "The  Rose,"  stole  the  directions  the 
day  before  "The  Rose"  left  Shanghai  and  handed 
them  over  to  the  big  man.  Weames  must  have  been 
very  surprised  when  "The  Rose"  increased  her  speed, 
and  from  it  guessed  that  there  was  another  copy  of 
the  directions  on  board.  To  ensure  that  it  should 
not  be  used  he  had  engineered  the  mutiny. 

Duffy  wondered  at  the  blundering  stupidity  of  a 
man  who  could  carry  things  so  far  with  success,  only 
to  spoil  it  all  at  the  last  minute  with  a  couple  of 


244        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

bottles  of  whisky  and  a  personal  hatred.  It  was 
Prussian  if  it  was  nothing  else. 

He  looked  at  Jimmy;  she  was  breathing  more 
strongly  and  her  cheeks  were  almost  normal  in 
color,  her  lips  almost  their  wonted  vividness.  He 
could  spare  a  hurried  moment,  and  he  ran  to  the 
fo'castle  from  which  came  the  earnest  bellowing  of 
Honest  Pig. 

He  had  just  finished  a  picturesque  speech  when 
Duffy  went  up  to  him  and  said  quietly: 

"I'm  morally  certain  that  big  man  is  coming. 
We've  got  to  get  the  jade  aboard  without  the  waste 
of  an  unnecessary  minute.  Get  them  onto  it;  I'm 
going  to  stay  with  Jimmy  a  few  minutes  longer  and 
by  the  time  you've  got  the  tackle  and  stuff  into  the 
long-boat,  I'll  be  ready  with  the  directions.7' 

"Right!"  said  Honest  Pig,  and  he  bawled  forth 
about  six  orders  in  a  heavy  bellow.  The  hands 
jumped  to  it.  In  the  child-like  memory  of  these 
sons  of  the  sea,  the  mutiny  was  already  a  matter 
of  yesterday. 

Duffy  returned  to  the  awning  and  drew  across 
either  end  the  curtain  that  shut  off  the  rest  of  the 
ship,  leaving  the  seaward  side  open.  He  dropped 
into  his  chair  and  watched  the  girl's  face. 

Presently  the  dark  eyes  opened  and  gazed  un- 


245 

comprehendingly  across  the  blue  lagoon  at  Taiho 
Shan,  idle  in  the  idle  sea.    Duffy  caught  her  hand. 

"Jimmy!"  he  said  sharply,  "you're  all  right  now, 
dear;  look  at  me!" 

The  dark  eyes  turned  and  she  looked  at  him; 
there  was  still  the  shadow  of  fear  in  them  and  in 
them  bewilderment  struggled  for  memory. 

"The  knife — the  knife,"  she  whispered,  and  the 
hand  he  held  clutched  his  tightly  as  she  burst  into 
a  paroxysm  of  tears.  It  was  reaction  from  the  strain 
— brought  by  the  knowledge  that  she  was  safe. 

Duffy  still  held  her  hand,  acutely  uncomfortable. 
He  could  not  remember  having  beheld  a  weeping 
girl  before,  and  a  beautiful  one  at  that.  For  a  man 
of  experience  he  felt  a  sudden  sense  of  helplessness, 
and  he  wished  for  a  moment  that  he  had  cultivated 
the  subtler  art  of  love-making.  Madeleine  had  never 
wept — any  more  than  he  had  made  love  to  her. 

He  trusted  for  once  entirely  to  his  instinct,  which 
bade  him  take  her  in  his  arms,  and  he  lifted  her  out 
of  her  chair  to  his  knee. 

Then  in  the  midst  of  her  sobbing  he  kissed  her — 
once.  It  was  a  timid  kiss,  the  first  he  had  ever 
bestowed  upon  any  one,  and  with  this  expression  of 
his  emotion  came  all  the  wonder  of  feeling  that  is 
part  of  that  experience.  He  was  frankly  surprised 


246        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

and  very  agitated;  never  had  his  poise  of  mind  been 
so  ruthlessly  shattered.  Even  Jimmy's  screams  as  he 
worked  his  way  out  of  the  chart-house  to  her,  had 
not  given  him  this  overwhelming  sensation.  He  did 
not  consider  the  bestowal  of  a  second  kiss — the  idea 
never  crossed  his  mind. 

As  his  surprise  and  agitation  died  and  gave  place 
to  something  almost  approaching  ecstasy,  Jimmy's 
sobs  grew  less  frequent  and  she  leaned  her  head 
against  his  shoulder.  The  softness  of  her  hair 
against  his  cheek  surprised  and  delighted  him.  He 
stroked  it  gently  and  talked  to  her  as  he  would  to 
a  frightened  child. 

Thus  he  held  her,  thoroughly  and  completely 
happy  in  the  nearness  and  feel  of  her,  until  he  saw 
that  she  had  fallen  into  the  deep  sleep  of  absolute 
nervous  and  physical  exhaustion.  Then  he  carried 
her  down  to  her  cabin  through  the  vile  mass  of  the 
saloon,  stepping  carefully  and  firmly  in  the  middle 
of  a  man  lying  across  the  doorway  in  a  drunken 
sleep.  The  man  snorted,  rolled  over  and  lay  still 
again. 

Duffy  put  the  sleeping  Jimmy  in  her  bunk,  pulled 
off  her  boots,  loosened  her  belt,  and  left  her  to  sleep 
till  she  awoke,  confident  in  sleep,  the  great  healer, 
to  pull  her  together  again. 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      247 

Then  he  closed  the  door  softly  and  entered  his 
own  cabin,  turned  one  of  the  metal-bound  boxes 
upside  down,  cut  away  the  patch  of  paper  with  his 
knife  and  took  out  the  directions.  From  her  case 
he  took  Elizabeth,  bolstered  her  and  strapped  her 
round  his  waist,  while  the  prismatic  compass  he  slung 
over  his  shoulder.  Then  he  sought  Honest  Pig  and 
watched  him  superintend  the  loading  of  the  long- 
boat with  the  necessary  tools. 

As  Duffy  watched,  he  pondered  deeply  over  the 
mystery  of  this  new  emotion  that  had  come  into 
his  heart;  disturbing  yet  surely  delightful.  He 
blamed  himself  a  little  for  having  taken  advantage 
of  her  tears  and  her  temporary  loss  of  the  independ- 
ent spirit — she  had  not  minded  his  kiss  apparently, 
but  then  he  was  doubtful  if  she  had  noticed  it.  How 
soft  her  hair  was — and  fragrant. 

"How  is  she?"  asked  Honest  Pig  in  the  middle 
of  Duffy's  dreaming. 

"All  right;  sleeping  it  off,"  he  answered.  "I've 
put  her  in  her  bunk." 

"Good,"  said  Honest  Pig.  "I've  just  looked  at 
that  skunk  up  there,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  quarter- 
deck. "Shall  we  throw  him  overboard?" 

"No,"  said  Duffy,  and  immediately  accused  him- 
self of  being  soft-hearted,  but  he  went  on:  "We've 


248        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

had  enough  blood  on  this  boat  without  spilling  any 
more." 

"But  he'd  spill  it  in  the  lagoon,"  said  Honest  Pig 
with  a  commendable  regard  for  accuracy.  He  could 
not  understand  this  sudden  softening  in  Duffy. 

"Same  thing,"  Duffy  said  firmly.  "We'll  make 
him  up  a  berth  in  the  chart-house  where  you  can 
look  after  him;  I  don't  want  him  anywhere  near 
Jimmy  in  her  present  state." 

Honest  Pig  growled  at  the  prospect  of  nursing 
Mr.  Weames. 

"I'll  go  ashore  with  five  men,"  said  Duffy.  "I 
think  you'd  better  stay  on  board  to  look  after  things, 
and  the  sooner  the  bo'sun  joins  the  sharks  the  better. 
The  sun  is  hot." 

"Yes,"  the  captain  growled. 

"Also  Weames  may  die  in  it.  I  really  think  it 
better  that  we  should  divide  forces.  Six  of  us  ought 
to  manage  the  Treasure  between  us." 

"Your  show,"  said  Honest  Pig  briefly,  and  on 
Duffy's  suggestion  they  acted.  Honest  Pig  watched 
with  gloomy  eyes  the  long-boat  being  lowered  away, 
Duffy  seated  at  the  tiller.  Then  he  superintended 
the  summary  disposal  of  the  bo'sun's  body  and  the 
establishment  of  Mr.  Weames  in  the  deck-house, 
gloomily.  Only  the  groaning  of  the  mate  while  he 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      249 

attended  him  relieved  his  feelings.  Once  or  twice 
he  went  to  the  door  and  watched  the  party  on  the 
island — they  seemed  very  busy  under  Duffy's  capa- 
ble leadership. 

The  adventurer's  feelings  as  he  stepped  onto  the 
sand  of  Taiho  Shan  were  jubilant.  The  story  had 
reached  its  climax  after  a  thrilling  and  satisfying 
phase.  That  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus  should 
be  anywhere  else  but  where  the  directions  indicated, 
Duffy  did  not  suppose  for  a  moment;  the  fact  that 
it  enjoyed  a  rival  seeker  seemed  to  make  its  exist- 
ence a  certainty  in  his  mind. 

On  the  directions,  which  he  knew  almost  by  heart, 
four  gallant  trees  were  indicated,  and  the  fact 
that  there  should  be  only  three  did  not  disturb  him. 
Von  Splatz  in  his  hurry  might  have  made  a  trifling 
mistake  of  that  kind.  The  first  bearing  that  he 
took  was  from  the  most  northerly  of  the  trees  and 
it  led  them  straight  to  the  center  of  the  atoll;  he 
paced  the  requisite  number  of  paces  along  the  line 
and  set  his  men  to  digging  on  the  spot. 

At  the  end  of  twenty  minutes  nothing  showed  for 
their  efforts  but  a  gaping  hole  in  the  sandy  soil  and  a 
feeling  of  acute  discomfort  in  the  blistering  sun. 

Duffy  went  back  to  the  trees  and  there  observed 
a  slight  hollow  in  the  ground  some  ten  feet  in  front 


250        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

of  the  most  northerly  tree.  It  was  the  spot  where 
the  fourth  tree  had  grown  until  a  storm  or  hurricane 
had  up-rooted  it  and  flung  it  into  the  sea.  Von 
Splatz  had  not  made  any  mistake  and  the  directions 
distinctly  instructed  that  the  bearing  should  be  taken 
from  the  most  northerly  of  the  trees,  so  with  the 
trained  mind  of  a  sleuth,  Duffy  decided  at  once  that 
the  pacing  should  commence  from  the  little  hollow. 
Ten  feet  beyond  the  hole  they  had  already  started, 
he  set  the  men  to  work  again. 

Ten  minutes'  enthusiasm,  or  such  that  the  sun 
allowed,  exposed  the  top  of  a  massive  chest  a  foot 
below  the  surface,  and  at  the  end  of  half-an-hour 
four  chests  like  the  first  lay  side  by  side  in  the 
shallow  pit.  Solid  chests  they  were  and  heavy  with 
their  contents — two  stout  iron  handles  on  either  side 
gave  ample  hold  for  four  men. 

One  by  one  Duffy  watched  them  carried  down  the 
beach  and  loaded  on  board  the  long-boat,  with  ex- 
hortations and  threats.  The  Manchu  Princes,  had 
they  been  there,  could  not  have  found  fault  with 
the  way  Duffy  handled  their  Treasure.  He  was  care 
incarnate. 

The  spades  and  picks  were  collected  and  put  on 
board,  the  five  sweating  mutineers  took  their  places, 


THE  TREASURE  OF  THE  MANCHUS      251 

and  Duffy  jumping  into  the  stern,  gave  the  order 
to  push  off. 

The  first  half  of  the  story  was  almost  told,  and 
his  claim  to  the  rank  of  Qualified  Adventurer  al- 
most justified.  In  his  expert  charge  the  Treasure  of 
the  Manchus  was  out  in  the  world  again:  jade  that 
would  bring  esthetic  ecstasy  to  the  spirit  of  the  lit- 
tle collector.  Duffy  wanted  to  sing,  he  even  started 
on  the  first  rollicking  bar  of  a  rollicking  pirate  song, 
but  something  stopped  him  ere  he  set  the  echoes  ring- 
ing across  the  quiet  lagoon. 

Away  to  the  southeast  a  black,  ominous  smudge 
marred  the  even  line  where  sea  met  sky.  Smoke 
was  that  black  smudge,  smoke  from  a  steamer's 
furnaces. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  BIG  MAN  COMES 

SMOKE  from  a  steamer's  furnaces:  the  furnaces  of 
the  big,  bearded  man's  ship  as  he  came  alocg  that 
same  black  line  from  Shanghai,  hot  in  the  search 
for  the  jade  of  the  Manchus,  the  jade  that  Duffy 
had  taken  from  its  hiding  place  on  Taiho  Shan  and 
which  lay  before  him  in  the  long-boat. 

"Row,  you  blighters,  row!"  yelled  Duffy  at  the 
five  men. 

The  five  men  rowed,  and  with  a  rasping  scrape 
the  boat  slid  alongside  "The  Rose";  the  davit  ropes 
hung  down  to  the  water  waiting  for  Duffy's  return, 
and  the  men  looked  at  him  in  surprise  as  he  steered 
the  long-boat  to  the  stern. 

"Captain  Fellowes,  ahoy!"  shouted  Duffy  in  a 
gruff  and  thoroughly  piratical  voice. 

Honest  Pig  looked  over  the  rail  and  saw  the  long- 
boat with  its  cargo. 

"Good,  you've  got  it!"  he  said,  and  turned  to 
order  the  davit  men  to  their  posts. 

"Half-a-minute!"  Duffy  called.  "Throw  down  a 
253 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  253 

ladder,  we  can  leave  the  stuff  a  little  while.  I  want 
to  talk  to  you." 

"Sure,"  said  Honest  Pig. 

Presently  a  rope-ladder  uncurled  from  the  side 
and  smacked  into  the  boat.  The  five  men  clam- 
bered up,  followed  by  Duffy  with  the  long-boat's 
painter  tied  to  his  belt. 

"What's  the  game?"  asked  Honest  Pig,  as  Duffy 
came  over  the  rail. 

"That!"  answered  Duffy  with  a  wave  of  his  hand 
to  the  southeast,  where  the  horizon  was  marred  by 
an  ever-thickening  cloud  of  smoke. 

"Hell!"  said  Honest  Pig  to  the  lagoon,  and  he 
spat  into  it  expertly.  Duffy  drew  the  long-boat  by 
its  painter  round  to  the  lee  of  "The  Rose's"  rudder 
and  there  lashed  it  securely. 

"That  can  wait  a  while,"  he  said,  and  scowled  at 
the  smudge  of  smoke.  "Steam's  right  down,  I  sup- 
pose?" 

"Yes,  curse  it.  I've  got  four  men  onto  the 
furnaces  but  it's  a  considerable  wait  before  we  can 
get  up  sufficient  pressure  to  move  any,"  said  Honest 
Pig;  and  again  he  damned  the  mate. 

"I'm  afraid  it  is  the  big  man,"  said  Duffy. 
"There  is  no  reason  why  anybody  else  should  come 
to  this  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  world." 


254        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Nope,"  assented  Honest  Pig.  "He's  the  guy, 
sure  enough.  Oh,  why  didn't  I  shoot  that  mate? 
Waste  of  time  to  keep  him  alive,  that's  my  feelin's. 
What  are  we  going  to  do?" 

"Well,  we  haven't  the  steam  to  run  for  it,"  said 
Duffy,  "so  we've  no  option  but  to  fight  for  it.  We 
can't  bluff  him." 

"If  we  dropped  Weames  overboard,  we  might," 
remarked  the  captain  hopefully.  He  was  beginning 
to  realize  in  his  slow  mind  that  his  chances  of  losing 
the  mate  were  becoming  more  and  more  scanty. 

"None,"  said  Duffy  decidedly.  "We  couldn't  bluff 
him  very  long.  There  are  two  large  holes  on  Taiho 
Shan  but  very  little  jade.  Besides,  the  absence  of 
Mr.  Weames  would  look  fishy — very  fishy." 

"Well,  what  about  the  jade?" 

"Leave  it  where  it  is;  it's  as  safe  in  the  long- 
boat as  ever  it  will  be  and  we  should  be  wasting 
valuable  time  getting  it  aboard.  Now  for  a  little 
organization!"  And  Duffy  set  to  work  with  a  cool, 
determined  mind  on  the  task  of  converting  "The 
Rose  of  Washington  Square"  into  a  battleship. 

Honest  Pig  yelled  and  shouted  at  his  crew  the 
orders  that  Duffy  evolved — it  was  Duffy's  time  to 
take  command. 

"We'd  better  cover  those  treasure-chests,"  he  said, 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  255 

and  saw  that  a  sail  was  thrown  over  them;  the 
long-boat  assumed  a  mysterious  atmosphere. 

Across  the  main  deck  a  barricade  was  hastily  con- 
structed of  boxes,  barrels  and  odd  spars,  while  loop- 
holes were  cut  in  the  deck-house,  where  Mr.  Weames 
lay  and  listened  to  their  preparations  for  war  with 
his  usual  scowl. 

The  hull  of  a  large  steamer  had  taken  the  place 
of  the  smudge  of  smoke,  and,  from  her  rapidly  in- 
creasing size,  was  coming  up  fast. 

"She  moves,"  remarked  Honest  Pig,  "and  she 
knows  where  she's  moving  to.  If  I  know  anything, 
Taiho  Shan  will  see  life  in  hectic  spots." 

"Good!"  said  Duffy,  and  he  pulled  a  piece  of  oily 
rag  through  Gilbert's  vicious  barrel.  "Better  get 
some  food  into  the  deck-house,"  he  added. 

"I'll  see  Yen  San,"  answered  Honest  Pig,  and  he 
went  below.  Duffy  examined  the  sea  and  the  sky 
and  the  big  man's  ship  with  careful  eyes. 

The  sun  was  low  and  its  setting  but  the  matter 
of  an  hour;  within  an  hour  and  a  half  it  would  be 
night,  for  in  these  latitudes  the  short  tropical  twi- 
light was  short  indeed.  Already  the  early  signs  of 
sunset  were  apparent  in  a  growing  redness  in  the 
gold  of  the  west,  and  a  night  breeze  that  stirred  the 


256        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

three  trees  of  Taiho  Shan,  ruffling  the  limpid  lagoon 
and  fanning  Duffy's  cheek. 

He  felt  that  the  utter  peace  of  sea  and  sky  was 
like  the  ominous  silence  before  a  howling,  raging, 
tearing  storm  that  comes  swiftly  from  a  clear,  un- 
troubled horizon. 

After  a  searching  glance  over  the  barricades  and 
loop-holed  deck-house,  he  rang  up  the  engine-room 
from  the  telephone  on  the  bridge. 

The  voice  at  the  other  end  of  the  tube  assured 
him  in  blasphemous  words  that  all  that  could  be 
done  to  raise  the  steam  pressure  was  being  done. 

"Good.  Stick  to  it,"  he  said,  and  forthwith  hur- 
ried down  to  Jimmy's  cabin.  He  tapped  at  the  door 
and  receiving  no  answer,  stepped  quietly  inside  and 
went  to  the  bunk. 

She  still  slept  peacefully;  the  tired  look  on  her 
face  had  almost  gone  and  he  had  not  the  heart  to 
hinder  its  going,  so  after  a  minute  he  left  her,  de- 
ciding that  she  should  have  all  the  sleep  she  could 
get  before  the  fresh  ordeal  that  awaited  her. 

The  new  emotion  still  surged  and  trembled  in  his 
heart  and  the  sight  of  her  did  nothing  to  quiet  it. 
It  was  a  changed  and  altered  Duffy  who  went  on 
deck.  He  recognized  that  he  had  something  more 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  257 

to  fight  for  than  jade — and  the  thought  was  ex- 
hilarating. 

When  Honest  Pig  returned  from  his  interview 
with  Yen  San,  they  served  out  arms  and  ammunition 
from  the  armory.  Duffy  refused  a  rifle,  pinning  his 
faith  on  Elizabeth  and  Gilbert;  he  took,  however,  a 
cartridge  belt  and  filled  it  with  ammunition  for  them. 
He  then  went  below  again  and  changed  into  a  dark 
jersey  and  dark  trousers,  slipping  on  a  pair  of  rub- 
ber-soled shoes.  He  saw  that  white  clothes  are  not 
conducive  to  successful  night  work,  nor  top-boots  to 
swift  movement.  Satisfied  that  his  equipment  for 
the  fray  was  complete,  he  returned  to  the  bridge. 

"What  about  Jimmy?"  asked  Honest  Pig.  "Will 
she  be  fit  to  do  anything?" 

"We'll  see,"  answered  Duffy.  "She  looks  a  good 
deal  better  and  I  don't  think  her  nerves  are  much 
affected." 

"Nerves?"  said  Honest  Pig  scornfully.  "Nerves? 
You  should  have  known  her  mother ! " 

Duffy  could  imagine  the  sort  of  girl  that  Honest 
Pig  had  married — or  rather  the  girl  who  had  married 
him. 

"What  was  she  like?"  he  asked. 

"Ragin'  mad  most  of  the  time,"  said  Honest  Pig. 


258        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"She'd  got  a  gun-hand  and  biceps  that  would  have 
shocked  you!  I  found  her  shootin'  her  father  into 
the  sea  for  beating  her  mother.  Some  gel,  I'll  tell 
the  world." 

Duffy  understood  Jimmy's  independence  and 
again  he  wondered  if  she  had  realized  his  kiss.  The 
chances  seemed  about  even  and  the  result,  one  way 
or  the  other,  lay  on  the  knees  of  the  Gods,  which, 
as  some  wise  men  once  remarked,  is  often  a  cold  and 
uncomfortable  place. 

The  sun  went  down  in  a  blaze  of  red-gold  and 
green  that  flung  rays  of  living  light  to  the  far  corners 
of  the  sea  and  sky.  Taiho  Shan  might  have  been 
the  lost  island  of  Daldicon's  dream;  ethereal  and 
very  weird  in  the  strange  light. 

"It's  a  wonderful  evening,"  Duffy  remarked. 
"And  we're  going  to  have  a  clear  night." 

"No,"  said  Honest  Pig,  who  had  been  looking 
thoughtfully  into  the  northwest.  "Look  yonder." 
And  he  pointed  to  where  the  line  of  horizon  was 
muffled  with  a  slight  haze. 

"Mist,  if  not  fog,"  he  added. 

"Maybe  an  advantage — maybe  not,"  said  Duffy. 

"Aye,"  said  the  captain,  and  he  turned  to  the 
southeast  again. 

The  steamer  was  some  seven  miles  away  now, 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  259 

and  increasing  in  size  every  moment;  Duffy  was 
reminded  of  a  sparrowhawk.  She  was  almost  swoop- 
ing. 

"Half-an-hour  and  she'll  be  up,"  said  Honest  Pig. 
"Are  we  going  to  wait  for  them  or  shoot  without 
asking  questions?" 

"Better  wait  and  see  what  they  do.  I  think  I'll 
go  and  wake  Jimmy,"  and  buckling  Elizabeth  and 
her  attendant  cartridges  round  his  waist,  Duffy  went 
below  again. 

As  he  entered  her  cabin,  Jimmy  sat  up,  rubbing 
her  eyes,  bright  with  sleep,  but  no  longer  bewildered 
and  frightened.  They  were  very  alert. 

"What's  happened?"  she  asked  at  once.  "Is  the 
mate  dead?" 

"No;  wounded  in  both  arms  and  lying  in  the 
deck-house.  Are  you  feeling  better?"  he  asked, 
watching  her  carefully.  She  had  not  noticed  his 
kiss,  or  if  she  had  she  had  decided  to  ignore  it,  but 
at  all  events  she  seemed  friendlier.  The  Gods  had 
been  kind. 

"What  else?"  she  asked,  and  swung  her  feet  out 
of  the  bunk  and  began  pulling  on  her  boots. 

"I've  got  the  jade,  four  chests  of  it,  in  the  long- 
boat astern;  the  big  man's  in  the  offing  and  will 
be  up  in  half-an-hour — steaming  like  the  devil,"  he 


260        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

said  concisely,  wasting  no  words.  It  was  to  be  busi- 
ness, nothing  but  business.  It  was  something  of  a 
relief  and  the  knowledge  gave  his  mind  untram- 
meled  energy  for  dealing  with  the  problem  in  hand; 
that  of  preserving  the  jade. 

"Fight?"  queried  Jimmy,  and  took  the  long  Colt 
off  its  shelf  and  commenced  buckling  it  round  her 
waist. 

"Yep;  barricade  across  the  main-deck;  deck-house 
loopholed  and  provisioned.  Everything  ready  for 
him,"  he  snapped,  his  words  expert  in  detail. 

"Is  the  crew  quiet?" 

"Quiet  as  lambs.    I  shot  two — wounded  them." 

"Good!" 

"I  shot  Green  through  the  face — he's  dead." 

"Better  still,"  she  said.  "Come  on.  I  want  to 
look  round,"  and  she  led  the  way  out  of  the  cabin 
and  up  on  deck. 

Duffy  followed  her,  debating  in  his  own  mind  the 
advisability  of  her  joining  in  the  scrap  that  he  felt 
sure  there  would  be  no  avoiding.  Advisable  or  not, 
he  decided,  she  would  take  a  lot  of  keeping  out  of 
it.  He  was  becoming  almost  used  to  the  idea  of  a 
girl  adventuring,  and  he  almost  consoled  himself  with 
the  thought  that  Jimmy  could  not  be  called  anything 
but  an  exceptional  girl.  It  was  rather  an  admission. 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  261 

"You  all  right?"  Honest  Pig  asked  her  as  she 
appeared. 

"Yes,  thanks,"  she  said,  and  it  was  left  at  that. 
Duffy  felt  somehow  that  the  narrowness  of  her  es- 
cape should  have  impressed  them  both,  but  it  had 
not.  Their  philosophy  bade  them  be  concerned  only 
with  the  fact  that  she  had  escaped,  not  with  even- 
tualities had  she  failed.  It  was  the  true  spirit  of 
adventure  and  when  he  recognized  it  as  such,  he  saw 
its  value.  After  all,  it  was  the  only  way  to  get  things 
done. 

The  big  man's  steamer  was  now  clear,  almost  to 
her  smallest  details.  She  was  white,  spruce  and 
built  for  speed,  her  long  lines  those  of  a  greyhound. 
Duffy  saw  the  futility  of  trying  to  run  from  her, 
even  had  they  sufficient  steam.  She  would  have 
done  fifteen  knots  to  their  five. 

They  could  see  a  little  group  of  men  standing  on 
her  bridge,  and  through  glasses  the  big  man  among 
them — thick  he  was  and  heavily  bearded. 

"We  were  right! "  said  Duffy.  "It's  the  big  man," 
and  he  handed  the  glasses  to  Jimmy. 

"Yes,  it  is  he,  right  enough,"  she  agreed. 

In  silence  they  watched  the  space  between  the 
two  ships  lessen  and  lessen;  heard  the  chug-chug  of 
the  white  boat's  engines.  A  short  ten  minutes 


262       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

brought  them  within  megaphone  distance  and  the 
three  of  them  moved  up  to  the  barricade  among  the 
men  who  stood  with  their  rifles  ready. 

"  'Rose'  ahoy!"  came  a  voice  from  the  big  man's 
bridge — clear  and  distinct  across  the  water. 

Honest  Pig  raised  his  megaphone. 

"Ahoy!    What  d'ye  want?"  he  shouted. 

No  answer  came  and  they  watched  the  white 
steamer  slow  down,  swing  round  and  drop  her  anchor 
just  outside  the  reef — blocking  the  entrance  to  the 
lagoon,  some  hundred  yards  away. 

Then  another  voice  rang  out  from  her.  It  was 
the  big  man's  voice,  slurring  and  guttural. 

"Haf  you  mister  Veames  aboard?"  he  called. 

Honest  Pig  answered  him. 

"We  have.    What  d'ye  want  with  him?" 

"I  want  to  talk  mit  'im!" 

"Well,  you  can't— he's  sick!" 

"Sick?  Vat  you  mean — sick?"  yelled  the  big  man, 
and  even  at  that  distance  Duffy  could  detect  sus- 
picion in  his  voice.  Through  a  short  silence,  during 
which  a  quick  conference  was  held,  the  two  ships  lay 
quiet  and  motionless. 

"What  shall  I  tell  him?"  asked  Honest  Pig. 

"Tell  him  what  you  like.  It's  better  to  declare 
war  at  a  distance  than  to  let  them  come  aboard 


THE  BIG  MAN  COMES  263 

and  wipe  us  off  our  own  decks.  Besides  they've  seen 
the  barricade,"  said  Duffy.  "They  know  we're  go- 
ing to  fight." 

"True  enough,"  said  Honest  Pig,  and  he  raised 
the  megaphone  again  and  shouted  through  the  rap- 
idly falling  darkness. 

"Go  to  the  devil  1" 

A  moment's  silence;  then  the  reply. 

"Ve  are  coming  aboard!" 

"You're  dam'  well  not!" 

Again  the  silence,  and  the  group  on  the  steamer's 
bridge  disappeared.  The  stars  came  out  swiftly  and 
in  a  few  short  minutes  it  was  night,  clear  and  bright 
— save  in  the  northwest  which  was  blurred  with  the 
on-coming  mist.  A  solitary  sea-bird  called  eerily  on 
Taiho  Shan  behind  them. 

Then  a  strange  thing  appeared  in  the  middle  of 
the  black  shadow  that  the  darkness  had  made  of  the 
steamer.  It  was  a  continual,  flickering  flash  fol- 
lowed by  whirring,  spluttering  thuds  among  the 
boxes  and  barrels  of  the  barricade — and  simultan- 
eously a  sharp  crackle,  vicious  and  sustained,  broke 
the  silence  into  trembling  sound. 

The  big  man  was  asserting  his  claim  to  the  Treas- 
ure of  the  Manchus — with  a  machine  gun. 


"DOWN!  Get  down!"  shouted  Duffy,  and  he  flung 
himself  flat  on  the  deck,  pulling  Jimmy  with  him. 

"What  the  devil  have  they  got  there?"  asked  Hon- 
est Pig.  "The  place  is  crawling  with  bullets! " 

"Lewis  gun,"  said  Duffy.  "Fires  in  short  bursts. 
Forty-seven  rounds  to  the  drum."  He  looked  cau- 
tiously at  the  flashes  on  the  steamer  over  a  barrel. 

"They  haven't  wasted  any  time,"  said  Honest  Pig. 

And  they  crouched  behind  the  barricade,  listening 
to  the  hum  and  smatter  of  bullets. 

"We'd  better  give  'em  a  little  to  think  about," 
said  Honest  Pig  presently,  and  he  slid  his  rifle  be- 
tween two  boxes  and  aimed  carefully  at  the  flash  of 
the  machine  gun.  He  emptied  the  magazine  at  it, 
reloaded,  altered  the  elevation  of  his  sights,  and  tried 
again. 

The  Lewis  stopped. 

"Hit  some  one,  I  think,"  said  Duffy  hopefully,  but 
almost  as  he  spoke  the  gun  broke  out  again.  The 
bullets  were  all  among  them.  The  man  on  the  other 

264 


DUFFY  GOES  265 

side  of  Jimmy  sighed  quietly  and  turned  over  on  his 
back — another  cried  out  from  the  end  of  the  line. 
Two  hits. 

"All  hands  concentrate  fire  on  that  flash!"  called 
Duffy  to  the  men,  "and  let  it  have  it.  Don't  shoot 
carelessly!" 

For  some  minutes  they  kept  up  a  steady  fusilade. 
The  Lewis  fired  on  and  three  of  "The  Rose's"  crew 
took  no  more  interest  in  the  proceedings.  Timson, 
Duffy's  disciple  of  the  great  principle  of  demonstra- 
tion, was  one  of  them. 

"This  can't  go  on,"  said  Duffy.  "We'd  better  get 
into  the  deck-house;  they  must  have  rigged  up  a 
pretty  effective  protection  for  that  gun." 

One  by  one  they  withdrew  from  the  barricade 
under  Duffy's  orders,  but  however  expert  those  or- 
ders were,  two  more  men  went  down  in  the  effort. 
It  was  a  shaken,  considerably  decreased  little  band 
that  collected  in  the  deck-house.  Seven  men  out 
of  an  original  eleven  were  out  of  action;  three, 
including  Honest  Pig,  who  had  been  hit  by  a  flying 
splinter,  were  slightly  wounded. 

Duffy  lit  a  candle  and  shaded  it  carefully,  while 
Honest  Pig  dabbed  a  trickle  of  blood  that  ran  down 
the  side  of  his  face  and  swore  lustily.  He  went 
over  to  Mr.  Weames,  who  lay  on  a  mattress  in  the 


266       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

corner,  and  vigorously  cursed  him,  Bis  father,  his 
mother  and  his  maker — who  was  not  the  Almighty. 
It  gave  him  very  little  satisfaction.  The  mate 
scowled  at  him  and  then  laughed  sardonically. 

"It's  no  good  swearing,"  said  Duffy.  "We've  got 
to  think  of  something,  and  quickly.  Has  anybody 
got  an  idea?" 

He  had  several  himself  and  perhaps  it  was  as  well 
he  did  not  instantly  force  them  upon  his  followers 
— for  followers  they  certainly  were,  now.  His  plans 
lacked  nothing  of  the  adventurous. 

"Could  we  board  them  and  scupper  that  gun?" 
asked  Jimmy. 

There  was  a  chorus  of  impolite  disagreement.  To 
board  the  steamer  had  been  one  of  Duffy's  plans, 
and  when  it  was  suggested  by  some  one  else,  he 
saw  the  wildness  of  it.  It  would  be  practically  im- 
possible to  get  right  up  to  the  steamer  without  being 
detected.  However  much  they  eliminated  sound 
from  their  movements,  a  boatload  of  men  is  always 
a  noisy  affair.  To  tackle  a  Lewis  gun  at  close  range 
in  an  open  boat  would  be  suicidal. 

Duffy  went  to  the  door  and  looked  out;  the  big 
man  was  still  asserting  his  claims  enthusiastically 
and  had  incidentally  reduced  the  barricade  to  match- 
wood. Even  the  thickening  mist  had  not  interrupted 


DUFFY  GOES  267 

him,  for  though  he  could  no  longer  see  "The  Rose" 
he  knew  the  range  and  elevation. 

"I've  got  it!"  said  Duffy.  "We  must  tow  The 
Rose'  out  of  the  line  of  fire.  This  mist  hides  us 
completely  and  we  shall  be  better  able  to  see  what 
we  are  about  in  the  morning." 

"Cute!"  said  Honest  Pig.  "Dam'  cute!  We  can 
use  the  long-boat — or  better  still  and  quieter  would 
be  a  couple  of  sweeps  from  'mid-ships — muffled." 

"Yep,  that's  the  idea,"  assented  Duffy.  "Four 
volunteers — I'm  one! " 

"I'm  another,"  said  Jimmy. 

"No:  we  want  men/'  said  Honest  Pig.  "Those 
sweeps  take  some  pulling.  I'll  take  you  three,"  and 
he  singled  out  three  of  the  hands,  leading  them  out 
into  the  mist  that  billowed  and  eddied  around  them, 
enfolding  "The  Rose"  in  a  mantle  of  inky  blackness. 
The  Lewis  gun  still  held  its  fire,  but  the  bursts  were 
shorter  and  at  longer  intervals.  The  big  man  had 
evidently  decided  since  "The  Rose"  had  ceased  fir- 
ing that  if  there  was  anything  left  of  her  de- 
fenders, that  remnant  would  be  small  and  insignifi- 
cant. He  was  living  up  to  his  Prussian  reputation 
for  thoroughness,  however,  by  firing  on  to  make  sure. 

One  man  was  left  with  Jimmy  and  Duffy  and 
they  stood  at  the  deck-house  door,  discussing  things. 


268       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Once  a  bullet  splintered  through  the  boarding  and 
ricocheted  round  and  round,  finally  dropping  on 
the  table.  Duffy  picked  it  up  and  examined  it. 

"Dum-dum!"  he  said  between  his  teeth.  "The 
devils!" 

Mr.  Weames  laughed  sourly. 

"Frederick  was  in  the  Prussian  Guard,"  he  said. 
"He  knows  his  job!" 

They  could  hear  Honest  Pig  and  his  men  getting 
out  the  sweeps;  it  must  have  been  a  difficult  task  in 
that  blackness.  Once  an  imprecation  reached  them 
from  one  of  the  hands  as  he  collided  with  his  fellow. 

"Going  all  right?"  called  Duffy  in  a  voice  that 
would  just  carry  to  them,  and  Honest  Pig  answered: 

"Fair  to  middlin',  but  damn  this  fog!" 

Duffy  was  not  so  sure,  however,  that  the  fog  ought 
not  to  be  blessed.  If  it  did  not  actually  prove 
their  salvation  it  would,  at  all  events,  delay  the  issue 
for  some  hours.  Indeed,  should  it  last  through  the 
next  day  there  was  every  chance  that  they  might 
slip  past  the  big  man's  steamer  under  its  cover.  By 
midnight  they  should  have  sufficient  steam  to  move 

on  their  own  power. 

I 

He  discussed  the  possibility  with  Jimmy,  who 
seemed  to  think  that  it  was  quite  feasible,  but  very 
much  a  matter  of  luck. 


DUFFY  GOES  269 

Duffy  tried  hard  to  find  out  her  exact  attitude 
towards  him  from  her  impartial,  almost  non-commit- 
tal air.  She  was  indeed  impartial,  but  he  thought 
that  her  hatred  for  him,  if  not  actually  banished  by 
his  rescue  of  her,  had  undergone  no  little  evapo- 
ration. She  no  longer  looked  at  him  with  smolder- 
ing, brooding  eyes;  she  did  not  look  at  him  at  all, 
and  in  that  he  rested  his  hopes.  His  instinct  told 
him  that  it  was  a  good  sign. 

"Are  you  feeling  quite  fit  now?"  he  asked,  trying 
the  effect  of  reminder  on  her. 

"Quite,  thanks,"  she  said,  and  walking  over  to 
Mr.  Weames,  she  looked  down  on  him  for  a  few  mo- 
ments in  silence,  then  returned  to  the  door. 

"Did  you  smash  the  bone?"  she  asked  of  Duffy. 

"In  the  left— not  the  right,"  he  said. 

"What  are  we  going  to  do  with  him  if  we  get 
out  of  this?" 

"Send  him  back  to  his  friend  Frederick  of  the 
Prussian  Guard,  I  suppose.  He's  no  use  to  us." 

"He's  not,"  she  said  shortly,  and  stood  there  run- 
ning her  finger  round  the  butt  of  her  Colt,  deep  in 
thought.  Duffy  would  have  given  a  good  deal  to  see 
into  her  mind  at  the  moment;  he  did  not  think  she 
was  considering  the  problem  of  the  mate  alone. 


270       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Then  all  speculation  was  banished  in  the  sudden- 
ness of  what  followed. 

The  Lewis  gun  had  been  silent  for  some  little 
while,  and  the  silence  emphasized  a  shot  that  could 
not  have  been  fired  more  than  twenty  yards  away. 
It  was  answered  by  a  queer,  horrible  cry  from  'mid- 
ships, followed  by  a  splash  in  the  lagoon.  Duffy 
gripped  Jimmy's  arm. 

"Who  was  it?"  he  whispered,  dread  clutching  at 
his  heart.  He  was  almost  sure  the  cry  was  Honest 
Pig's. 

"The  splash  was  one  of  the  sweeps,"  said  Jimmy 
practically.  "A  body  makes  quite  a  different  noise." 
She  evidently  did  not  recognize  her  father's  voice 
in  the  cry. 

Then  a  shuffling  sound,  eery  and  utterly  unlike 
anything  Duffy  had  ever  heard,  reached  them  from 
the  deck;  it  came  nearer  and  nearer — stopping  once 
or  twice  and  then  commencing.  It  was  a  struggling 
noise,  full  of  effort. 

It  was  made  by  Honest  Pig. 

He  dragged  himself  up  to  them  out  of  the  dark- 
ness, supporting  himself  by  his  arms;  his  body  loose 
and  lifeless  behind  him. 

"He's  got  me!  He's  got  me,  the  devil!"  he 
gasped  out,  and  the  two  rushed  forward  and  helped 


DUFFY  GOES  271 

him  to  his  feet  with  difficulty  and  into  the  deck- 
house. They  lowered  him  carefully  into  a  chair. 

"Daddy,  daddy,  where  are  you  hurt?"  Jimmy 
cried  in  an  agonized  voice.  "Oh,  the  beasts!" 

"My  side:  it  feels  all  smashed  in,"  Honest  Pig 
muttered  almost  to  himself.  Duffy  saw  the  death 
glaze  stealing  over  the  pain-filled  eyes.  Jimmy 
caught  the  dying  man's  hands  in  hers. 

"You'll  get  better,  daddy.  You  must  get  better! 
You  can't  die!"  Then  she  clasped  his  head  in  her 
arms.  Duffy,  a  sense  of  horror  and  stupefaction 
overwhelming  him,  could  only  stand  and  watch  them 
helplessly. 

Then  Mr.  Weames  laughed  a  long,  satisfied  laugh 
which  penetrated  Honest  Pig's  withering  conscious- 
ness and  flung  him  into  amazing  action.  He  stood 
up,  almost  without  an  effort,  and  tottered  forward 
a  little  on  his  paralyzed  legs.  Then  he  dropped 
headlong  across  the  mate  with  a  crash  that  seemed 
to  shake  the  whole  ship.  A  quiver  passed  through 
her  even  as  a  shudder  trembled  over  the  body  of 
Honest  Pig. 

The  heap  in  the  corner  lay  still — the  mate  lay 
still.  Honest  Pig  had  fulfilled  his  vow,  but  he  had 
not  shot  the  mate — he  had  broken  his  back. 

With  a  strangled  cry  Jimmy  flung  herself  on  her 


272        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

father's  body  and  Duffy  turned  away,  gazing  out 
into  the  fog,  a  thousand  feelings  and  thoughts  surg- 
ing through  him  in  bewildering  chaos.  It  was  the 
suddenness  of  the  thing  that  affected  him  so.  Other 
men  had  died  within  the  hour,  but  Honest  Pig- 
Honest  Pig  the  strong,  the  invincible.  It  seemed  in- 
credible that  a  mere  piece  of  lead  out  of  fog-bound 
darkness  should  destroy  so  completely.  Even  the 
fact  that  Honest  Pig  had  killed  in  death  did  not 
impress  Duffy  with  its  significance  until  later. 

Again  the  silence  was  shattered;  this  time  by  two 
shots  from  under  "The  Rose's"  quarter.  Another 
man  cried  out  from  'midships. 

The  big  man  was  running  a  risk  they  had  not 
dared — he  was  boarding  them! 

Duffy  groped  his  way  to  the  rail  and  peered  into 
the  mist:  he  could  see  nothing  in  the  thick  dark- 
ness that  hid  the  water.  A  faint  creaking  to  his 
left  gave  him  a  clue  and  he  fired  five  rapid  shots  in 
its  direction  with  Elizabeth.  The  echoes  rose  and 
fell  and  died  away;  no  answering  shot  came — the 
creaking  had  stopped.  For  a  moment  he  stood  lis- 
tening, the  trained  ear  of  an  adventurer  analyzing 
each  little  sound;  the  lapping  of  sea  against  the 
ship's  side  as  she  swung  in  the  gentle  current  that 
swept  through  the  opening  in  the  reef;  the  swish, 


DUFFY  GOES  273 

swish  of  two  ropes  that  crossed  and  stirred;  occa- 
sionally the  drip  of  water  falling  into  the  lagoon 
from  the  wet  anchor  cable,  and  a  quiet  sobbing 
from  the  deck-house  where  Jimmy  wept  out  her 
grief.  From  'midships  came  no  sound,  and  Duffy 
wondered  what  had  happened  to  the  survivors  of 
the  three  hands  who  had  been  with  Honest  Pig; 
there  should  be  at  least  two  of  them.  The  question 
was  never  settled,  and  the  fact  that  he  neither  saw 
nor  heard  them  again  worried  him  little — they  were 
still  mutineers  in  his  eyes,  and  as  such  deserved  small 
consideration. 

He  picked  a  cautious  way  back  to  the  deck-house; 
once  he  tripped  over  the  body  of  a  man,  and  shiv- 
ered a  little.  He  was  experiencing  all  the  helpless- 
ness of  a  child  that  is  lost  in  a  thick  and  unpleasant 
wood.  The  discovery  that  he  loved  Jimmy,  the  find- 
ing of  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus,  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  rival  in  a  fast  steamer  with  a- ma- 
chine gun,  its  quick,  deadly  havoc  among  the  crew, 
and  lastly,  the  killing  of  Honest  Pig,  had  found  the 
answering  readiness  of  a  hardened  adventurer  to 
cope  with  matters,  sadly  lacking. 

The  movement  of  the  story  was  as  swift  as  he  had 
always  demanded  it  should  be  in  the  far-away  days 


274        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

when  he  sub-edited  "Dalkeith  Adventure  Novels." 
Its  swiftness  left  him  gasping. 

Jimmy  was  sitting  at  the  table,  crying  softly,  and 
the  sight  of  her  pathetic  helplessness  stirred  new 
feelings  in  Duffy's  heart.  She  was  now  utterly  alone 
in  the  world  except  for  himself,  and  he  saw  that 
with  the  fleeting  of  Honest  Pig's  virile  spirit  much 
of  her  own  had  gone  out  of  her.  She  had  lost  her 
complete  independence. 

He  went  over  to  her  side  and  put  a  clumsy  but 
still  comforting  arm  round  her  shoulders. 

"Buck  up,  Jimmy:  you  mustn't  cry,  now.  We've 
still  got  to  get  out  of  this  hole.  He  ...  he  would 
rather  we  did,"  he  said  gently. 

"What's  the  use?"  she  asked.  "Oh,  daddy, 
daddy "  and  the  sobs  came  again. 

"The  big  man's  boarding  us,  I  think,"  Duffy  said 
after  a  while.  "We  can  still  do  something." 

At  last  he  persuaded  her  to  leave  the  deck-house, 
and  after  blowing  out  the  candle  he  closed  the  door 
after  them.  He  did  not  want  Jimmy  to  go  back 
there. 

He  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  could 
no  longer  hope  to  get  away  with  the  jade  in  "The 
Rose,"  short-handed  and  un-captained  as  she  was, 


DUFFY  GOES  275 

and  he  doubted  his  capacity  to  handle  her  himself: 
again  this  new-found  caution  that  he  would  have 
scorned  a  month  or  so  ago!  The  adventurer  might 
have  been  described  by  some  as  half-hearted,  but 
the  description  would  have  been  unjust.  He  was 
still  firmly  determined  to  convey  the  Treasure  of 
the  Manchus  to  the  little  collector,  but  the  added 
responsibility  in  his  life  made  his  methods  less  those 
of  a  hardened  adventurer  with  nothing  to  lose.  He 
had  something  to  lose. 

The  ship  was  deadly  quiet  when  they  recon- 
noitered,  holding  each  other's  hand  lest  they  should 
lose  touch  with  each  other,  for  the  mist  was,  if  any- 
thing, thicker  than  ever.  Duffy  led  the  way  to  the 
barricade  which  had  indeed  been  battered  by  the 
continual  fire.  Timson  and  the  other  men  lay  among 
its  ruins  .  .  .  they  were  all  dead. 

Leaving  Jimmy  to  keep  a  look  out,  Duffy  found 
his  way  to  the  stern  and  by  tugging  at  the  painter 
of  the  long-boat,  ascertained  its  safety — then  he  slid 
his  hands  round  the  side  until  they  met  the  hooks 
of  the  rope  ladder  by  which  he  had  climbed  aboard 
from  the  long-boat  with  the  Treasure  party. 

He  dragged  the  ladder  round  until  it  was  hanging 
sheer  from  the  stern,  directly  beneath  the  long- 


276        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

boat's  painter.  Then  he  rejoined  the  girl,  and  to- 
gether they  made  their  way  into  the  main-cabin. 
Duffy  outlined  his  plan. 

"The  big  man  is  sitting  in  a  boat  somewhere  out 
there  in  the  mist,  waiting  to  come  aboard,"  he  began 
as  he  lit  a  hurricane  lantern.  "It  would  be  almost 
impossible  for  us  to  stop  him  altogether.  We  might 
hinder  him  and  shoot  one  or  two  of  them,  but  we 
should  not  be  any  better  off " 

Jimmy  interrupted  with  something  of  her  former 
spirit  in  her  eyes  and  voice: 

"I  want  two  lives  at  least!"  she  said  between 
her  teeth.  It  was  the  primitive  call  of  blood  for 
blood;  a  life  for  a  life. 

"And  lose  your  own  in  getting  them,"  said  Duffy. 
"No;  your  father  paid  his  own  bill  when  he  fin- 
ished Weames.  He  would  far  rather  I  got  you 
away  safely;  I  know  he  would." 

She  did  not  seem  to  notice  the  showing  of  his 
proprietary  instinct  and  listened  in  silence  while  he 
spoke.  If  she  thought  any  more  of  vengeance  she 
kept  it  to  herself. 

"I  propose  that  we  get  away  in  the  long-boat," 
Duffy  went  on.  "Provision  her,  take  a  large  beaker 
of  water,  blankets  and  so  forth,  and  make  for  the 
nearest  steamer  route.  There  must  be  one  some- 


DUFFY  GOES  277 

where  about  here,  so  close  to  Shanghai.  Then  we 
must  trust  to  luck — at  any  rate  we  stand  more 
chance  of  getting  the  jade  to  England  that  way: 
we  would  never  do  it  in  'The  Rose,'  even  if  there 
were  no  big  man  trying  to  snaffle  the  Treasure. 
What  do  you  say?" 

She  nodded  agreement.  She  did  not  really  care 
what  happened  to  her. 

Hastily  Duffy  collected  food  from  the  lazarette, 
and  filled  a  water-beaker;  he  saw  no  sign  of  Yen 
San  in  the  deserted  calaboose  and  he  vaguely  won- 
dered what  had  happened  to  the  Chinaman,  but  there 
was  no  time  to  find  out.  Every  moment  was  pre- 
cious, for  the  success  of  his  plan  depended  upon 
leaving  before  the  big  man  plucked  up  sufficient 
courage,  or  persuaded  his  men,  to  risk  a  boarding. 
The  dead  quiet  of  "The  Rose"  must  have  been  dis- 
concerting to  that  gallant  guardsman. 

Silently  they  carried  their  bundles  to  the  stern, 
and  after  several  anxious,  difficult  journeys  up  and 
down  the  rope-ladder,  while  Jimmy  held  the  long- 
boat close  in,  Duffy  eventually  got  everything  they 
would  need  aboard.  There  are  a  surprising  num- 
ber of  things  an  expert  can  think  of  as  necessary  for 
a  voyage  in  an  open  boat  on  the  West  Pacific — 
everything,  indeed,  from  an  electric  torch  to  a  tin- 


278        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

opener.  At  last  everything  was  ready  and  Jimmy 
followed  him  on  his  last  descent,  carrying  the  painter 
with  her,  while  he  held  the  long-boat  steady  with 
the  bottom  of  the  ladder.  Then  they  shook  the  lad- 
der free,  dropped  it  into  the  lagoon,  and  in  a  moment 
were  swallowed  up  in  the  mist. 

It  was  with  forlorn  hearts  that  they  settled  down 
for  their  voyage. 

Duffy  packed  away  their  food  and  blankets  in 
the  lockers  and  then  helped  Jimmy  to  get  out  the 
oars  as  silently  as  possible.  The  difficult  task  of 
getting  out  of  the  lagoon  and  through  the  reef  had 
to  be  accomplished  without  any  noise  that  might 
give  them  away  to  the  big  man. 

Duffy  made  his  way  carefully  to  the  stern, 
clambering  round  the  side  of  the  Treasure  chests, 
and  carrying  his  prismatic  compass — blessing  it  for 
its  luminous  dial  and  pointer. 

Then  he  discovered  that  there  was  something  else 
besides  jade  lying  in  the  safety  of  the  long-boat. 
He  put  his  hand  on  the  back  of  a  man's  head — a 
pig-tailed  head — Yen  San's. 

"Well,  I'll  be "  Duffy  began  to  whisper,  but  a 

sudden  blow  on  his  arm  cut  the  ejaculation  short. 

It  was  Yen  San's  wrist;  he  must  have  held  a 
knife  for  there  was  a  slight  splash  in  the  lagoon. 


DUFFY  GOES  279 

Duffy  thanked  the  lucky  star  that  guides  the  des- 
tiny of  adventurers  and  said  ungrammatically: 

"It's  only  me,  Yen  San— Duff;  and  for  God's 
sake  don't  make  a  noise!" 

Yen  San  clicked  his  teeth  in  the  darkness. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  OPEN  SEA 

JIMMY  heard  the  sound  of  the  disturbance  in  the 
stern  and  scrambled  round  the  Treasure  chests. 
She  found  Duffy  listening  to  Yen  San's  whispered 
explanation. 

"When  the  killing  and  guns  and  noise  made  life 
an  unpleasant  task  on  the  big  boat,"  the  Chinaman 
was  saying  softly,  "Yen  San  betook  himself  under 
cover  of  night  into  this  littler  and  safer  boat.  Twice 
did  a  bullet  try  to  hide  itself  in  the  body  of  Yen 
San,  twice  did  Yen  San  throw  himself  on  his  face 
and  crawl,  crawl  like  a  dog  on  its  belly.  Then  he 
climbed  like  a  monkey,  since  a  dog  cannot  climb, 
down  the  little  thin  rope  and  into  this  velly  com- 
fortable boat.  And  here  he  stayed." 

He  was  about  to  continue,  but  apparently  de- 
cided that  he  had  given  a  full  enough  explanation. 
He  subsided  into  silence. 

"Well,  you  will  have  to  come  along  with  us," 
said  Duffy.  "I  hope  you  haven't  any  other  plans 
because  we  cannot  put  you  back  on  'The  Rose.' 

280 


THE  OPEN  SEA  281 

The  gentleman  who  tried  to  hide  bullets  in  your 
body  is  trying  to  hide  others  in  ours,  so  we  are 
leaving  him." 

"Where  do  you  go  now?"  asked  Yen  San, 
whose  pigeon  English  had  improved  into  a  more 
picturesque  and  lucid  language. 

"To  the  nearest  steamer  route,"  said  Duffy.  He 
was  very  glad  that  Yen  San  had  missed  with  his 
knife  stroke,  for  judging  by  the  pain  in  his  arm, 
it  had  been  delivered  with  no  little  force. 

"It  is  well.  I  go  with  you,"  Yen  San  remarked 
somewhat  superfluously,  since  he  had  very  little 
choice  in  the  matter.  Indeed,  his  only  alternative 
was  the  lagoon. 

Duffy  put  Jimmy  and  Yen  San  to  the  oars  and 
holding  the  tiller,  concentrated  all  his  attention  on 
his  compass.  The  little  luminous  arrow-head  had 
got  to  show  them  the  way  out  of  the  lagoon,  the 
opening  in  whose  reef  lay  almost  due  north  accord- 
ing to  Duffy's  calculations. 

"Now!"  he  called  softly,  and  he  felt  the  rudder 
quiver  as  the  long-boat  began  to  move  through  the 
placid  water. 

The  mist  still  lay  like  a  thick  and  stifling  blanket 
over  the  sea,  not  a  breath  of  air  stirred  and  all  was 
quiet.  Even  the  two  at  the  oars  made  very  little 


282        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

noise;  just  an  occasional  slight  splash  as  their 
blades  cut  into  the  water,  or  the  drip  from  them 
as  they  moved  backwards  for  the  next  stroke. 

Of  the  big  man's  boat  there  was  no  sound  or  sign; 
somewhere  out  in  the  mist,  perhaps  ten,  perhaps  a 
hundred  yards  from  them,  it  was  waiting  or  moving. 
It  was  an  ordeal  that  was  worse  for  Duffy,  perhaps, 
than  any  of  them  since  with  him  lay  the  responsi- 
bility of  avoiding  the  big  man  and  steering  them 
through  the  reef. 

For  some  ten  minutes  the  long-boat  headed  stead- 
ily into  the  mist,  unchallenged  and  unnoticed. 
Duffy  had  reckoned  that  the  opening  in  the  reef  was 
some  sixty  yards  across  and  that  even  allowing  for 
quite  a  big  miscalculation  in  its  direction,  the  short- 
ness of  their  distance  from  it  would  ensure  their 
getting  through  it — somewhere. 

Actually  he  steered  clean  through  the  very  center 
of  it  with  the  result  that  he  did  not  know  when  they 
were  through.  Only  did  the  passing  of  time  give 
him  a  suspicion  of  what  had  happened;  certainty 
came  a  few  minutes  later.  Before  that,  however, 
they  heard  the  big  man's  boat. 

Duffy  could  not  estimate  from  the  sound  of  voices 
that  they  heard,  how  far  or  how  near  it  was,  but 


THE  OPEN  SEA  283 

whatever  its  distance  the  voices  were  clear  in  the 
sound-carrying  mist — and  in  German. 

"Easy! "  called  Duffy  to  his  crew,  and  as  the  long- 
boat glided  through  the  water  on  the  impulse  of  the 
last  stroke,  they  listened  intently. 

The  big  man  was  persuading — vehemently. 

His  men  were  declining — vehemently. 

"I  wish  I  understood  them,"  said  Jimmy. 

"So  do  I,"  assented  Duffy. 

"They  say,"  said  Yen  San  after  a  moment's  listen- 
ing, "they  say  that  they  will  see  their  honorable 
captain  cooking  in  a  hot  place  before  they  go  on 
board  the  ...  the  .  .  .  cattle  ship." 

"You  understand  German?"  said  Duffy  with  con- 
siderable surprise. 

"A  little,"  said  Yen  San.  "I  occupied  myself 
with  advantage  for  four  years  in  Berlin."  Then 
after  a  pause  he  went  on:  "The  big  noise  in  the 
little  boat  states  to  his  reluctant  men  that  if  they 
do  not  obey  his  honorable  orders  he  will  hide  a  great 
many  bullets  in  their  .  .  .  their  verminous  bodies. 
He  suffers  great  anger." 

"Well,  if  he  suffers  it  as  noisily  as  that,"  said 
Duffy,  "we  can  put  in  a  little  hard  rowing  while  he's 
at  it.  Now!" 

And  again  Jimmy  and  Yen  San  bent  to  their  oars 


284        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

while  Duffy  watched  the  arrow-head  of  his  compass. 
Five  minutes'  heavy  pulling,  for  heavy  it  was  with 
the  load  of  jade  aboard,  brought  them  complete 
proof  that  they  had  passed  safely  through  the  reef. 

The  proof  was  a  sudden  whiteness  in  the  black 
curtain  before  them  and  Duffy,  who  faced  the  way 
they  were  moving,  saw  it  first. 

"Easy!"  he  cried  softly,  and  slewed  the  long- 
boat broadside-on  to  the  white  patch.  "It's  the 
steamer,"  he  whispered.  "Row  on  slowly;  we'll  go 
round  her." 

Through  a  mist  that  seemed  perhaps  a  little  less 
dense,  Duffy  steered  carefully  with  peering  eyes. 
As  they  glided  round  the  steamer's  bows,  the  great 
plan  came  to  him. 

"Yen  San,  can  you  speak  German?"  he  asked, 
with  difficulty  keeping  the  rising  note  of  eagerness 
out  of  his  voice. 

"I  can,"  said  Yen  San. 

"Good!" 

Duffy  ordered  in  the  oars  and  pointed  the  long- 
boat's nose  at  the  white  patch  instead  of  into  the 
open  sea  beyond.  They  slid  up  to  the  steamer's 
side,  catching  it  with  the  palms  of  their  hands. 
There  was  not  the  smallest  scrape,  and  Duffy  moved 


THE  OPEN  SEA  285 

the  long-boat  slowly  along  to  the  gangway  that  he 
felt  sure  would  be  there.  They  reached  it  and 
found  that  its  lowest  step  came  within  two  feet  of 
the  water. 

"Luck!"  said  Duffy  quietly.  "Luck!  Come 
here,  both  of  you." 

They  came  and  gathered  round  him  in  the  stern. 
In  swift,  concise  sentences  he  told  them  his  plan, 
daring,  simple  and  complete.  Its  very  daring  made 
it  all  the  more  possible.  Jimmy  was  frankly  driven 
from  her  grief  by  it,  while  Yen  San  allowed  his  usual 
impassive  mind  to  awaken  to  the  point  of  quoting 
a  short  passage  of  Emerson — inaccurately. 

Then  Duffy  crept  forward  and  lashed  the  painter 
to  the  gangway. 

Presently  two  dim  figures  mounted  that  same 
gangway  with  swift,  careful  feet,  and  came  cau- 
tiously out  onto  the  black  mist  that  hid  the  deck. 
Alien  figures  they  were,  and  menacing.  They  stood 
motionless  for  a  few  breathless  moments,  peering 
and  listening. 

Then  a  short  cough  came  from  the  binnacle  above 
their  heads.  Together  they  moved  in  its  direction 
and  up  the  companion  that  led  to  it-*-silent  still, 
and  menacing. 


286        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

Again  a  pause  until  the  vague  silhouette  of  a  man 
showed  against  a  star-lit  sky  that  suddenly  appeared 
through  the  mist.  It  was  the  look-out  man. 

The  two  figures  rushed  him  together — the  first, 
Yen  San,  curled  himself  like  a  piece  of  vicious  steel 
round  the  surprised  man's  legs  almost  at  the  same 
moment  that  Duffy  brought  down  the  heavy  butt 
of  Elizabeth  on  the  back  of  the  man's  square  head. 
A  grunt  and  a  stagger — and  the  square-headed  man 
would  not  cough  again  for  some  little  while. 

"See  to  him  in  a  second,"  said  Duffy.  "Come 
on!  This  is  where  you  play  your  part,"  and  he 
led  the  way  to  the  engine-room  telegraph.  The  dial 
was  very  comprehensive,  telling  one  every  degree 
of  speed  that  it  was  possible  to  obtain,  ahead  or 
astern.  Duffy  switched  on  his  little  electric  torch 
that  he  took  from  his  pocket,  inspected  by  its  light 
the  telegraph,  held  his  breath,  then  pulled  the  in- 
dicator over  to  "Full  steam  ahead"  and  at  the  same 
time  handed  the  speaking  tube  to  Yen  San.  There 
was  a  moment's  suspense,  then  Yen  San  said  in  deep, 
guttural  and  thoroughly  German  tones : 

"Fahrt  wie  der  Teufel;  wir  wollen  den  vieti-trans* 
port  versenken!" 

A  thick  voice  answered  him — smartly  and  un- 
questioning. 


THE  OPEN  SEA  287 

"Good,"  said  Duffy  when  Yen  San  told  him  the 
result,  and  he  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief.  "Go  back 
to  the  long-boat  and  when  we  begin  to  move,  lash 
out  an  oar  so  that  we  don't  bump  against  the  side. 
I'm  going  to  wait  until  we  move,  set  a  course,  and 
then  lash  the  wheel  dead  ahead — after  that  it  will  be 
a  matter  of  luck.  This  mist  is  lifting." 

Yen  San  disappeared  into  the  darkness  without 
a  word,  while  Duffy  slashed  through  the  anchor 
cable  with  a  savage  sheath-knife. 

Almost  immediately  the  heart  of  the  steamer  be- 
gan to  beat  and  she  moved,  slowly  at  first  but  with 
gathering  speed.  And,  as  though  to  mark  her  return 
to  life,  a  gust  of  wind  came  from  the  south,  cold  and 
unexpected,  stirring  the  mist  into  a  thousand  whirl- 
ing eddies.  Then  another  gust  and  another,  and 
in  a  second  a  steady  breeze  was  blowing.  In  a 
moment  the  sky  was  visible,  clear,  moon-  and  star- 
lit, and  through  the  lower  darkness  came  a  silver 
glitter — the  sea.  The  mist  had  gone  as  suddenly 
as  it  had  come,  leaving  Taiho  Shan  and  its  three 
trees  bathed  in  moonlight,  while  "The  Rose  of 
Washington  Square"  lay  clear-cut  and  detailed  in 
the  lagoon  behind  the  reef. 

Duffy  saw  a  crowd  of  men  moving  about  her 
decks,  an  occasional  flash  as  the  moonlight  caught  a 


288        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

rifle  barrel.  The  big  man  had  run  the  risk,  boarded 
unhindered  by  repelling  force  in  time  to  hear  the 
most  alarming  and  surprising  thing  in  the  world: 
the  first  chug-chug  of  his  beautiful  white  steamer  as 
she  swung  round  and  headed  with  no  uncertain  air 
for  the  open  sea. 

He  stood  on  the  bridge  of  "The  Rose  of  Wash- 
ington Square"  and  howled  unanswered  prayers  and 
curses  to  the  wide  heavens.  At  times  he  danced  a 
futile  but  Dervish-like  dance,  and  once  he  emptied 
his  revolver  harmlessly  into  the  sky. 

Then  Duffy  lashed  the  wheel  of  the  beautiful  white 
steamer  and  ran  down  the  companion  to  the  gang- 
way and  down  that  into  the  long-boat,  which  was 
cutting  through  the  water,  lashed  firm  and  fast  to 
the  steamer. 

"They'll  crowd  every  ounce  of  steam  into  her 
boilers  for  the  next  hundred  miles,"  he  said  to  the 
other  two,  the  triumph  of  success  in  his  voice.  "The 
big  man  trained  his  crew  well  and  they'll  carry  on 
till  they're  told  to  stop.  I  shan't  tell  them  to  stop. 
They  are  expecting  'The  Rose'  to  go  up  with  a 
bang  any  minute,  thanks  to  Yen  San's  German. 
He  told  the  engineer  she  was  being  blown  up." 

"Couldn't  we  take  command  and  make  for  Shang- 


THE  OPEN  SEA  289 

hai?"  asked  Jimmy.    "We  could  easily  subdue  the 
engine-room." 

"We  might,"  said  Duffy  thoughtfully;  and  he 
fell  to  thinking  of  the  plan.  It  held  possibilities. 
Then  he  remembered  the  look-out  man  they  had  put 
out  of  action  and  returning  to  the  binnacle,  gagged 
and  bound  him  with  efficiency  against  the  moment 
he  should  return  to  thick-headed  consciousness. 

Duffy's  original  plan  had  been  to  allow  the 
steamer  to  steam  furiously  for  the  horizon  and  event- 
ually to  cut  adrift  from  it,  leaving  it  to  discover  the 
absence  of  its  crew  at  its  leisure.  The  matter  would 
need  discussing. 

They  discussed  it  at  length.  The  success  of  Jim- 
my's plan  to  commandeer  the  steamer  depended 
mainly  on  the  number,  or  lack  of  number,  of  men 
in  its  engine-room.  There  might  be  three  or  there 
might  be  five.  It  was  a  big  risk,  and  Duffy  pointed 
it  out. 

"Risk,"  said  Jimmy.  "What  is  all  this  talk  of 
yours  about  risks,  Duffy?  You  don't  seem  to  have 
worried  about  them  very  much  up  to  the  moment." 

Duffy  smiled  happily,  and  said: 

"You  see  we've  actually  got  the  jade  now — the 
worst  part  of  the  business  is  over  as  far  as  that  is 


290       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

concerned — and  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  careful 
going  to  transport  it  home." 

He  did  not  tell  her  that  she  had  been  added  to  his 
list  of  responsibilities.  The  time  was  not  yet  ripe. 

Yen  San  sat  on  his  heels  and  looked  back  at  the 
distant  blotch  that  still  remained  of  Taiho  Shan  and 
"The  Rose  of  Washington  Square."  His  eyes  were 
fixed  and  unblinking;  he  had  taken  no  part  in  their 
discussion.  He  may  or  may  not  have  listened  to 
the  fitful  argument  that  continued  until  the  first 
sword  of  red  fire  pierced  the  deep  shadow  of  the 
sky  and  warned  them  of  a  new  day. 

"Dawn,"  said  Duffy,  and  they  watched  the  steady 
brightening  of  sea  and  sky.  It  was  different  so 
close  to  the  water — they  seemed  nearer  to  it  than 
when  they  had  watched  it  from  the  deck  of  "The 
Rose"  a  seeming  year  ago. 

Jimmy,  who  had  made  no  sign  or  allusion  to  the 
death  of  her  father  since  her  first  outbreak  of  grief, 
found  in  the  eternal  mystery  that  a  dawning  always 
conveys  a  sense  of  overwhelming  loneliness.  It 
prompted  her  to  slip  a  slim  hand  into  Duffy's  as  they 
leaned  side  by  side  against  one  of  the  treasure 
chests. 

Duffy  thrilled  and  understood.  It  showed  him 
that  she  looked  to  him  now  and  the  action  sym- 


THE  OPEN  SEA  291 

bolized  the  lessening  of  her  independent  spirit.  She 
trusted  him,  forgiving  and  forgetting  his  lapse  in  the 
shattering  shock  of  deep  experience.  He  rejoiced — 
and  realized  a  sense  of  completeness,  almost  of  ful- 
filment. This  was  the  dawning  of  a  new  day  in  the 
world,  and  a  new  day  in  his  adventure.  A  day 
brighter  than  all  the  days  that  had  gone  before. 

Into  the  stillness  yet  turmoil  of  his  mind  broke 
the  mellow,  wisdom-speaking  voice  of  Yen  San. 

"Suppose,  honorable  companions,  that  we  per- 
suaded the  dogs  in  the  ship's  heart  to  obey  our  hon- 
orable orders  to  Shanghai — how  would  we  get  this 
most  valuable  Treasure  onto  a  ship  for  the  West? 
Their  excellencies,  the  Customary  Officers,  forbid 
the  carrying  of  jade  out  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 
What  should  we  do?" 

"Smuggle  it!"  said  Duffy  instantly. 

Yen  San  looked  with  his  oblique  eyes  at  Duffy 
and  then  at  the  four  massive  chests  of  jade,  express- 
ing in  the  slow  movement  of  his  head  far  more  than 
any  words  could  have  done.  He  emphasized  the 
largeness  of  the  chests  and  the  relative  smallness  of 
Duffy. 

"Yes?"  he  said  softly. 

Duffy  thought  for  a  moment.    Then  he  said: 

"Well,  whatever  we  do  we  must  do  speedily. 


292        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

The  big  man  will  get  'The  Rose'  to  sea  as  fast  as 
he  can.  Daylight  will  show  him  that  the  Treasure 
has  gone;  in  fact  he  might  manage  to  keep  within 
two  or  three  hours  of  us  all  the  way.  Steam  was 
almost  up  when  we  left.  If  we  make  for  the  coast 
it  must  not  be  Shanghai." 

"But  Shanghai  is  the  only  place  where  we  are 
likely  to  get  a  home-going  boat  willing  to  carry  us," 
said  Jimmy. 

"Unless  we  pick  one  up  somewhere  out  at  sea," 
suggested  Duffy. 

They  fell  silent,  each  debating  the  point  in  their 
minds,  while  the  steamer  chugged  stanchly  along 
into  the  brightening  day.  Jimmy  let  her  fingers  drag 
through  the  swiftly  passing  water  and  occasionally 
looked  at  Duffy  under  her  dark  lashes.  She  ob- 
served how  much  better-looking  he  had  become 
under  the  combined  effect  of  sun  and  sea;  his  chin 
was  firmer,  his  eyes  clearer  and  quite  blue. 

Yen  San  broke  the  silence  again.  He  always  man- 
aged to  hit  the  right  moment  at  which  the  greatest 
attention  might  be  obtained. 

"Are  you,  my  honorable  companions,  in  any  great 
hurry  to  reach  the  land  of  your  fathers?"  he  asked 
quietly. 


THE  OPEN  SEA  293 

They  both  reviewed  this  new  point  for  a  moment, 
then  almost  together  said: 

"No;  why?" 

"Well,"  the  Chinaman  said,  "it  seems  a  course 
of  greater  wisdom  to  Yen  San  that  we  should  abide 
in  complacency  and  peace  in  the  paradise  of  Chi'ung- 
To  for  a  period,  until  the  bearded-one-with-many- 
bullets  shall  have  forgotten  us  and  our  valuable  pos- 
sessions which  he  covets,"  and  he  indicated  the 
Treasure  of  the  Manchus  with  a  graceful  movement 
of  his  hand. 

"Chi'ung-To?"  said  Jimmy.  "I  thought  Chi'ung- 
To  was  a  legend." 

"Chi'ung-To  is  no  legend,"  said  Yen  San. 
"Chi'ung-To  is  an  island." 

"Where?"  asked  Duffy,  who  had  read  in  his  books 
on  China  of  the  much-talked-of  Chi'ung-To;  its 
mystery  in  fact  had  called  forth  a  whole  chapter 
from  the  pen  of  an  authority. 

"You  have  a  chart?"  asked  Yen  San. 

"No,"  said  Duffy.  "A  chart  of  this  part  of  the 
world?" 

"Yes." 

"Half-a-minute." 

Duffy  ran  up  the  gangway  of  the  steamer;  made 
a  few  careful  observations  for  any  sign  of  life; 


294        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

reached  the  big  man's  chart-house  with  swift  strides 
and  found  on  its  table,  spread  out  where  it  had  last 
been  examined,  a  fellow  of  the  chart  Honest  Pig 
had  shown  him.  As  he  gathered  it  up  he  noticed  a 
little  cross  in  red  ink  that  drew  attention  to  the  small 
speck  of  Taiho  Shan. 

On  the  way  down  to  the  long-boat  Duffy  realized 
the  wisdom  of  Yen  San's  suggestion.  The  big  man 
might  have  sufficient  influence  in  Shanghai  to  make 
that  port  very  hot  for  them.  It  was  best  avoided 
for  a  while.  Besides  they  had  indefinite  time  be- 
fore them  provided  their  food  lasted. 

Duffy  handed  the  chart  to  Yen  San,  who  bent 
over  it  for  a  few  minutes  in  silence.  Then  he 
pointed  with  a  long  fore-finger. 

"That,"  he  said,  "is  Chi'ung-To." 

It  was  a  speck,  unnamed  and  surrounded  by  a 
mass  of  reefs;  it  looked  no  bigger  than  Taiho  Shan. 
For  all  the  attendant  markings  round  it,  in  its  broad, 
unsullied  expanse  of  chart  it  looked  deserted  indeed, 
but  none  the  less  secluded.  It  lay  some  hundred 
miles  behind  Taiho  Shan  and  nearer  the  mainland. 

"Looks  quiet,"  said  Jimmy. 

"It  is,"  assented  Yen  San,  and  he  produced  a 
watch,  a  ruler,  and  a  stub  of  pencil  from  the  sleeves 
of  his  loose  shirt-kimono  affair.  Then,  using  one 


THE  OPEN  SEA  295 

of  the  chests  as  a  table  and  a  corner  of  the  chart  for 
his  papers,  he  made  rapid  calculations. 

"I  can  take  you  to  Chi'ung-To,"  he  said  at  length. 
"There  are  food  and  shelter  and  peace  on  Chi'ung- 
To." 

Duffy  and  Jimmy  looked  at  each  other  for  a  sec- 
ond in  mute  consultation.  The  resolution  was 
passed. 

"Good,"  said  Duffy.  "Take  us  to  Chi'ung-To, 
Yen  San." 

Without  a  word  Yen  San  clambered  for'ard  and 
cast  loose  the  painter,  while  Duffy  seizing  the  tiller 
and  holding  it  hard  over,  steered  the  long-boat  clear 
of  the  side  of  the  steamer  as  it  slid  past.  At  the 
same  moment  the  sun  slipped  over  the  lip  of  the 
world  and  it  was  day. 

Even  as  the  big  man's  steamer,  well-ordered  and 
obedient,  drove  an  unwavering  course  for  the  far 
horizon,  the  long-boat  hoisted  its  brown  sail  into  the 
clear  morning  air,  caught  the  steady  breeze,  and 
sailed  cheerily  away  for  Chi'ung-To. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
POETIC  JUSTICE 

THROUGH  the  long  day  under  a  fierce  sun  until  the 
cool  of  evening,  the  long-boat,  with  its  freight  of 
jade  and  its  crew  of  adventurers,  sailed  for  a  horizon 
that  came  no  nearer.  The  three  took  turn  and  turn 
about  at  the  tiller,  and  Yen  San  kept  a  watchful 
eye  on  their  course. 

They  made  their  midday  meal  off  tinned  peaches 
and  large  square  biscuits — in  the  hurry  to  leave 
"The  Rose"  Duffy  had  carried  away  a  case  of  Cali- 
fornian  peaches  under  the  impression  that  it  held 
bully  beef.  The  peaches  were  tasty  but  not  sus- 
taining; the  biscuits,  however,  though  flavorless  and 
of  an  unappetizing  hardness,  made  the  meal  quite 
satisfying.  But  in  that  heat  they  had  little  inclina- 
tion for  food. 

After  it  Jimmy  slept  fitfully  for  a  while,  stirring 
and  moaning  a  little  in  her  sleep.  Though  con- 
sciously she  gave  no  sign,  subconsciously  she  was 
fighting  the  first  great  sorrow  she  had  ever  known. 
Her  father  had  been  the  only  companion  she  had 

296 


POETIC  JUSTICE  597 

ever  had,  and  the  loss  of  him  cut  into  the  very 
depths  of  her  being.  Her  philosophy,  instinctive 
and  unformulated  though  it  was,  upheld  her  through 
the  worst  of  the  experience,  and  already  she  was 
taking  more  interest  in  what  was  happening  about 
her,  while  Duffy  and  Yen  San  tacitly  avoided  the 
subject  of  Honest  Pig's  death.  When  they  talked 
—which  was  seldom — they  talked  of  Chi'ung-To. 

To  Duffy  the  prospect  of  a  desert  island  was  en- 
trancing; indeed,  he  wondered  that  it  had  not  oc- 
curred to  him  before  as  an  absolute  necessity.  What 
romance  or  adventure  had  ever  been  complete  with- 
out one?  He  questioned  Yen  Sen  about  Chi'- 
ung-To and  learned  very  little.  Yen  San  was 
monosyllabic  to  the  point  of  ignoring  the  matter, 
giving  the  impression  that  beyond  being  able  to 
assure  him  that  the  island  did  exist,  he  would  have 
to  answer  his  own  questions  when  they  arrived. 

That  evening  they  sailed  languidly  into  the  glow 
of  sunset  along  a  path  of  crimson.  The  breeze  that 
had  carried  them  all  day  dropped;  later,  however, 
it  freshened  again  and  they  proceeded  as  steadily 
as  before. 

Yen  San's  sudden  intervention  in  the  adventure 
aroused  in  Duffy  all  his  former  interest  in  the  China- 
man. He  watched  the  impassive  face  and  wide-set 


THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

eyes  and  his  mind  dwelt  on  the  accomplishments  of 
the  man.  He  could  cook — like  very  few  cooks;  he 
had  an  astounding  knowledge  of  the  philosophies  of 
the  world;  he  spoke  German  as  fluently  as  English; 
and,  in  addition  to  all  these,  he  could  sail  a  boat 
across  an  unknown  sea  with  expert  hands.  True 
Yen  San  was  an  Oriental  and  the  only  one  with 
whom  Duffy  had  come  into  close  contact,  but  even 
for  an  Oriental,  he  decided,  there  was  an  inordinate 
air  of  mystery  about  him. 

Sitting  or  lying  still,  which  Duffy  had  perforce 
to  do  all  day,  allowed  him  to  spend  the  greater  part 
of  his  energy  on  his  thoughts.  He  was  conscious, 
above  everything,  that  life  had  indeed  opened  itself 
out  before  his  eyes  like  an  amazing  flower.  It 
seemed  that  he  had  only  just  commenced  to  live 
and  that  in  spite  of  the  fullness  of  his  adventures 
so  far,  as  yet  he  was  but  on  the  fringe  of  things. 

He  was  right — he  was  on  the  fringe  of  things. 

The  next  morning,  some  three  hours  after  sunrise, 
they  sighted  Chi'ung-To,  glowing  like  a  jewel  in  its 
setting  of  blue  and  gold.  It  was  bigger  than  Taiho 
Shan  and  covered  with  luxuriant  trees  and  gaily 
bedecked  bushes.  Almost  circular,  it  lay  within  the 
usual  limpid  lagoon,  but  a  lagoon  bluer  perhaps  than 
most,  for  the  bright  greens  of  the  trees  and  the 


POETIC  JUSTICE  299 

masses  of  red  blooms  that  swept  down  to  the  white 
beach  emphasized  the  vividness  of  its  color.  It  was 
indeed  an  Island  of  Paradise. 

Duffy  gazed  at  it  in  wonderment,  and  even  Jimmy, 
used  as  she  was  to  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  was  not 
a  little  stirred. 

"Paradise,"  she  said.  "Chi'ung-To  has  earned 
its  name." 

Yen  San  alone  seemed  unimpressed,  or  if  he  was, 
he  did  not  show  it. 

The  reef  allowed  a  clear  passage  for  the  long-boat, 
and  Yen  San,  putting  down  his  Emerson  and  taking 
the  tiller  from  Duffy,  steered  a  decisive  course  into 
the  lagoon,  running  cleanly  aground  on  the  smooth 
sand  of  the  beach.  By  expending  a  good  deal  of 
energy,  which  the  weight  of  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus  demanded,  they  pulled  the  boat  out  of 
reach  of  the  tide. 

"And  that,"  said  Duffy  a  little  breathlessly,  "is 
that." 

"It  is,"  agreed  Yen  San  wisely,  and  began  un- 
loading their  stores,  cacheing  them  in  a  pile  in  the 
shade  of  a  convenient  palm  tree.  Jimmy  and  Duffy 
explored  the  immediate  neighborhood. 

The  vegetation  was  thick,  and  did  not  permit  them 
to  penetrate  very  far  from  the  beach.  Presently 


300       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

they  returned  and  lay  down  on  the  cool  sand  in  a 
nook  between  two  rocks,  watching  the  glittering  sea. 
At  least,  Jimmy  watched  it,  for  Duffy  was  more  con- 
cerned with  the  effect  of  a  bright  scarlet  flower  that 
the  girl  had  tucked  behind  her  ear.  It  contrasted 
admirably  with  the  blackness  of  her  hair  and  the 
delicacy  of  her  skin;  she  was  very  beautiful — the 
very  spirit  of  the  sea  and  the  sky  and  Chi'ung-To. 

He  wanted  to  make  her  talk  that  he  might  watch 
the  shades  of  expression  that  would  move  across  her 
face,  and  the  light  in  her  eyes  when  she  turned  to 
him — but  he  was  loath  to  disturb  her,  and  speech, 
he  decided,  seemed  somehow  unnecessary  and  out 
of  keeping  with  things.  He  wondered  immensely 
what  she  was  thinking  about. 

Presently  she  spoke,  slowly,  and  looking  across 
the  lagoon  with  dreamy  eyes  the  while. 

"Duffy,"  she  said,  "what  is  the  matter  with  me? 
I've  got  such  a  funny  feeling  here."  And  she  put 
a  slim  hand  on  her  breast. 

"Pain?"  he  asked. 

"No;  not  pain — at  least  I  suppose  it  is  a  sort  of 
pain,"  she  said.  "I've  never  felt  it  before." 

He  looked  worried,  and  said  a  little  hesitatingly: 

"Is  ...  it  ...  your  father?" 

"No;   I'm  not  worrying  about  daddy.     He  al- 


POETIC  JUSTICE  301 

ways  managed  pretty  well  when  he  was  alive  and 
I'm  not  afraid  for  him  now  that  he  is  ...  is  dead. 
He'll  pull  through — wherever  he  is." 

Duffy  shook  his  head  in  perplexity  and  they  fell 
silent,  the  girl  puzzled  and  he  wondering. 

Yen  San  was  examining  the  chests  of  jade — tap- 
ping them  and  trying  to  unfasten  the  locks.  Pres- 
ently he  gave  it  up  and  walked  over  to  them,  a 
slouching,  bent  figure. 

"Food,"  he  said,  "I  will  find  food.  Will  you 
make  heat  that  I  may  cook?" 

"Right,"  said  Duffy,  and  lazily  he  set  about  gath- 
ering sticks  and  dry  leaves,  while  Yen  San  disap- 
peared into  the  thickets,  leaving  the  two  alone. 

"We'll  open  those  chests  after  we've  eaten,"  said 
Duffy,  and  he  dropped  a  bundle  of  twigs.  "I  won- 
der what  sort  of  jade  they  hold.  Mr.  Northcote 
seemed  to  think  it  would  be  very  wonderful — I  hope 
it  is,  for  Heaven  knows  we've  had  a  thick  enough 
time  getting  it." 

"Let's  open  it  now,"  she  said.  "We  can  get  the 
fire  going  and  then  open  the  chests.  Yen  San  will 
be  some  time  at  his  cooking.  I  suppose  he  is  quite 
'straight'?"  she  added. 

"Yep,"  said  Duffy.  "I'm  sure  he's  'straight.* 
You  see,  he  is  by  way  of  being  rather  grateful  to  me, 


302       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

I  think.  He  is  another  I  saved  from  the  tender 
hands  of  Weames '  He  stopped  suddenly,  re- 
membering his  decision  that  his  rescue  of  her  should 
be  forgotten.  But  it  was  too  late.  He  realized 
instantly  that  she  was  thinking  about  it.  For  a  few 
seconds  there  was  a  distinct  "feeling"  in  the  air. 
He  busied  himself  with  the  fire  and  after  one  or 
two  efforts  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  pile  of 
brushwood  blaze  up.  He  thought  the  crisis  was 
past,  but  suddenly  Jimmy  commenced: 

"Duffy,  I — I — want  to  say,  though  I  don't  sup- 
pose you  can  ever  forgive " 

"No!"  shouted  Duffy.  "No!"  And  he  turned 
and  ran  along  the  water's  edge. 

Jimmy  looked  after  him  with  blank  surprise  in 
her  eyes — had  he  taken  leave  of  his  senses?  She 
felt  intuitively  that  what  she  had  been  about  to  say 
was  the  one  thing  in  the  world  he  wanted  to  hear, 
yet  he  had  apparently  run  from  her  to  avoid  that 
hearing!  She  was  right — he  had,  but  it  was  not 
because  he  did  not  wish  to  hear  her,  he  did;  what 
he  did  not  wish  was  what  he  knew  her  apology  might 
cause  him  to  do.  Duffy  was  still  firmly  convinced 
that  his  immediate  job  was  to  get  the  Treasure  of 
the  Manchus  to  England — not  to  make  love  to  his 
partner  in  that  adventurous  business.  Let  him  fulfil 


POETIC  JUSTICE  303 

his  commission — and  then,  time  and  energy  would 
show. 

At  this  point  I  think  we  might  examine  an  atti- 
tude in  Duffy's  mind  towards  certain  aspects  in  life 
—love  and  all  that  it  implies.  He  had,  indeed,  flung 
from  him  in  his  pursuit  of  the  more  furious  things 
of  life  much  of  the  conventional,  orthodox  atmos- 
phere which  had  impregnated  his  whole  life  in  Har- 
penden  from  its  earliest  beginnings,  but  in  his  search 
through  the  realms  of  fiction  for  ever  more  glorious 
adventure,  he  had  not  had  reason,  or  opportunity 
for  that  matter,  to  delve  deeply  into  the  ethics  of 
the  greatest  of  all  emotions. 

Aunt  'Tilda,  mid-Victorian,  and  with  the  poor 
noble  curate  of  St.  Stephen's  as  her  guiding  inspira- 
tion, had  cherished  and  given  forth  to  Duffy  as 
ultimate  truth  her  views  on  the  various  relations 
between  man  and  maid. 

And  Duffy,  now  that  he  was  confronted  with  what 
was  certainly  the  greatest  experience  in  his  life — 
that  of  falling  completely  in  love — very  naturally 
brought  to  bear  on  the  situation  the  wisdom  of  Aunt 
'Tilda.  The  point  is  that  he  did  not  realize  his 
feelings  as  being  the  result  of  that  wisdom;  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  if  he  had  he  would,  though  with  no 
disrespect  to  Aunt  'Tilda,  have  summarily  rejected 


304        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

them  as  false  and  useless.  He  had  absorbed  the 
teaching,  half-heedingly  and  subconsciously,  with 
the  result  that  when  the  need  arose  for  some  definite 
ambition  with  regard  to  Jimmy,  his  subconscious 
mind  produced,  with  the  readiness  it  will  always 
display,  a  perfect  scheme  of  procedure. 

That  procedure  entailed  a  fixed  income  and  a  nice 
six-roomed  house  complete  with  all  modern  improve- 
ments, set  on  the  hills  above  Harpenden  within 
comfortable  distance  of  Town.  He  had  no  fixed 
income  and  no  six-roomed  house;  therefore,  before 
he  could  presume  to  make  love  to  Jimmy  he  must 
be  certain  that  the  ideal  his  subconscious  mind  sup- 
plied was  attainable,  or  at  least  within  reasonable 
reach  of  his  purse. 

The  Treasure  of  the  Manchus  in  England  would 
be  a  feather  in  his  cap — it  would  distinguish  him  as 
a  Qualified  Adventurer  and  would  enable  him  to 
command  a  more  or  less  fixed  income.  Qualified 
Adventurers  must  have  a  market,  a  good  market,  in 
the  world.  Duffy  did  not  attempt  to  work  out  the 
part  that  Jimmy  was  to  play  in  the  future  program 
of  his  life;  if  he  had  he  would  have  seen  the  complete 
incompatibility  of  Jimmy  and  the  six-roomed  house, 
and  in  happy  inconsequence,  would  have  picked  her 
up  and  kissed  her  at  once. 


POETIC  JUSTICE  305 

It  can  only  be  said  that  Duffy's  conscious  mind 
had  not  yet  grappled  with  the  problem,  and  prob- 
ably it  was  as  well.  Jimmy  was  in  no  mood,  nor 
even  in  the  spirit,  to  be  rushed.  Furthermore 
if  she  loved  Duffy  as  much  as  Duffy  loved  her,  she 
did  not  realize  it.  Realization  so  often  comes  later 
to  the  woman  than  to  the  man. 

So  thus  we  have  Duffy  climbing  into  the  long-boat 
with  the  intention  of  expending  his  energy  in  open- 
ing the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus  as  an  outlet  for  his 
emotions,  while  Jimmy  stood  by  the  fire  and  watched 
him  with  eyes  that  were  no  longer  surprised,  but 
alight  with  understanding;  a  smile,  doubtful  a  little, 
but  happy  rather  than  unhappy,  wreathing  her 
lips. 

Duffy  found  an  ax  in  one  of  the  lockers  and 
inspected  the  lock  of  one  of  the  chests.  Then  he 
called  to  the  girl: 

"Come  on;  I'm  going  to  open  it!" 

She  came  and  helped  him — the  more  intimate 
question  shelved  in  the  interests  of  the  jade. 

Eventually  they  persuaded  the  lid  of  the  chest  to 
swing  back  on  its  hinges  and  the  first  layer  of  silk 
packing  was  revealed.  With  fingers  that  trembled 
with  excitement  they  pulled  it  away  and  brought  to 
light  the  first  piece.  It  was  a  temple-gong  of  green 


3o6       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

jade  like  the  little  collector's  bowl  in  the  orange 
room  of  his  house  in  St.  John's  Wood. 

Duffy  held  it  up  to  the  light  and  they  both  ad- 
mired the  effect  of  sunlight  through  the  translucent 
green,  that  had  had  no  light  shining  through  it  since 
the  day  it  had  been  packed  away  by  Von  Splatz. 
Duffy  found  that  the  simplicity  of  the  piece  ap- 
pealed to  Jimmy. 

"Mr.  Northcote  said  that  all  the  beautiful  things 
in  the  world  are  simple  things,"  he  remarked.  "In 
art,  literature,  architecture,  sculpture — the  simple 
always  stands  above  the  complex."  And  carefully 
spreading  some  of  the  silk  packing  on  the  sand,  he 
rested  the  gong  in  it.  As  he  was  turning  to  the  chest 
again,  Jimmy  held  up  her  hand  and  said  quietly: 

"Listen,  Duffy!" 

He  stood  still  and  after  a  moment  heard  a  steady 
crashing  among  the  undergrowth  of  bushes  where 
the  woods  fringed  the  beach. 

"That's  not  Yen  San,"  said  Duffy  quickly,  a  note 
of  alarm  in  his  voice.  "It's  made  by  more  than  one 
man!  Where's  my  gun?"  and  he  slid  his  hand 
round  for  Gilbert.  "I've  left  him  with  the  pile  of 
stuff  under  the  tree.  Damn!"  And  he  started  off 
at  a  run  up  the  beach,  Jimmy  by  his  side. 

Within  twenty  yards  of  the  pile  an  amazing  com- 


POETIC  JUSTICE  307 

pany  marched  sedately  out  of  the  wood,  right  in 
front  of  them.  The  two  pulled  up  in  consternation 
and  surprise.  Chi'ung-To  was  no  uninhabited 
island!  Indeed,  it  boasted  a  platoon  of  Chinese  sol- 
diers, garbed  in  regulation  uniform  of  white  drill 
and  carrying  service  rifles  on  their  shoulders.  At  the 
head  of  the  little  column  was  a  short,  tubby  little 
Chinese  officer  with  a  spiky,  black  mustache  and  a 
very  martial  air.  He  barked  an  order  in  Chinese 
and  his  men  halted,  formed  line  with  commendable 
smartness,  and  "ordered  arms." 

The  tubby  officer  stepped  forward,  clicked  his 
heels,  bowed  politely,  and  said: 

"If  I  do  hot  inconvenience  your  very  honorable 
excellencies  I  would  beg  of  you  march  a  little  way 
with  us.  Your  honorable  presence  is  desired." 

Duffy  found  words  at  last;  this  new  exigency  de- 
manded tactful  dealing.  The  platoon  of  soldiers 
looked  far  too  regulation  and  far  too  well  armed  to 
take  liberties  with.  Diplomacy  was  the  weapon 
they  must  use. 

"We  will  come,"  he  said,  "when  we  have  prepared 
ourselves/'  and  he  led  Jimmy  to  the  pile  of  stores. 
He  picked  up  Elizabeth  and  her  belt,  put  Gilbert  in 
his  hip  pocket  and  gave  Jimmy  her  top-boots,  which 
she  had  taken  off  when  she  reached  the  sand. 


3o8         THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Who  the  devil  are  these  soldiers?"  the  girl  asked. 
"Yen  San  told  us  the  place  was  deserted.  This 
looks  black;  especially  with  that  jade  in  the  long- 
boat!" 

"It  does,"  Duffy  agreed.  "We've  got  to  be  jolly 
careful  how  we  act  and  what  we  say.  In  fact  the 
least  we  do  of  either,  the  better.  'Let  the  other  chap 
do  the  talking'  is  a  fine  motto  in  a  case  of  this  sort. 
Got  everything  you  want?" 

"Yes,"  said  Jimmy. 

Duffy  turned  to  the  little  officer,  who  had  been 
watching  their  preparations  with  inquisitive,  beady 
eyes. 

"We  are  ready,"  he  said. 

The  officer  bowed  again,  turned  to  his  men,  and 
again  barked  at  them.  They  divided  into  two 
parties,  one  of  which  marched  over  the  beach  to  the 
long-boat;  the  other,  in  charge  of  the  officer,  formed 
an  escort  round  the  two  adventurers.  Then  another 
order  and  they  started  through  the  woods.  Once 
Duffy  tried  to  prise  a  little  information  as  to  the 
desirer  of  their  presence.  He  received  no  answer. 

As  they  plodded  along,  side  by  side,  they  dis- 
cussed in  low  tones  the  new  problem  that  had  arisen 
so  suddenly,  and  the  probable  whereabouts  of  Yen 
San. 


POETIC  JUSTICE  309 

"I  -say,"  said  Duffy  suddenly,  "why  should  he 
have  gone  so  far  for  food?  There  are  cocoanut 
palms  right  on  the  edge  of  the  beach  and  any  amount 
of  those  bushes  with  that  kind  of  raspberry  on 
them." 

The  question  would  have  to  settle  itself,  and  they 
gave  up  useless  speculation.  They  talked  of  other 
things,  and  again  Duffy  found  himself  grappling 
with  the  problem  of  their  relationship — even  while 
the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus  seemed  to  be  so 
seriously  in  the  soup. 

The  woods  through  which  they  marched  were  very 
thick,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  were 
returning  by  the  same  route  that  they  had  cut  on 
their  way  out,  the  going  might  have  been  difficult 
indeed.  As  it  was  Duffy  wished  he  was  wearing  his 
top-boots  instead  of  the  rubber  shoes  in  which  he 
had  left  "The  Rose,"  for  the  thorns  and  brambles 
troubled  him  a  good  deal. 

At  the  end  of  about  twenty  minutes'  steady  walk 
the  trees  thinned  out,  and  they  found  themselves  at 
the  opening  to  a  great  clearing  that  must  have  been 
half-a-mile  across  and  extending  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  island.  In  the  distance  they  canght  the 
glitter  and  light  of  the  sea. 

The  sight  that  greeted  their  eyes  was  surprising 


3io        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

to  say  the  least  of  it,  and  they  were  growing  used 
to  surprising  things.  In  the  center  of  the  open  space 
was  a  low,  white,  veranda-skirted  bungalow,  set  in 
the  midst  of  a  well-ordered,  cultivated  garden;  broad 
paths  led  up  to  it  from  different  directions.  On 
either  side  were  smaller  bungalows,  groups  of  cluster- 
ing huts  and  store-houses.  It  was  a  little  colony 
that  carried  with  it  an  amazing  air  of  completeness 
and  self-sufficiency.  Coolies,  babies  and  dogs  moved, 
crawled  and  sported  in  the  warm  sun. 

"Well,  I'll  be  blowed!"  said  Duffy.  "Uninhab- 
ited! Yen  San  was  talking  out  of  the  back  of  his 
neck!" 

"He  was,"  assented  Jimmy.  "This  is  a  regular 
village!" 

They  followed  the  lead  of  the  little  officer,  who 
left  his  men  at  the  entrance  to  one  of  the  paths  and 
took  them  up  to  the  veranda  of  the  big  bungalow. 
He  bowed  them  into  long  chairs  and  disappeared 
through  a  wide,  curtained  doorway. 

Jimmy  and  Duffy  sat  and  looked  at  each  other: 
their  surprise  growing,  their  expectancy  at  its 
keenest. 

"What  next?"  asked  Duffy  rather  plaintively. 
He  loosened  Elizabeth  in  her  holster,  not  because  he 
thought  there  was  an  earthly  chance  of  his  using 


POETIC  JUSTICE  311 

her  without  being  extremely  foolish,  but  because  the 
feel  of  her  butt  comforted  him  a  little. 

Suddenly  the  little  officer  stepped  quickly  out  of 
the  doorway  and  held  back  the  curtain.  There  was 
a  moment's  pause  while  the  two  adventurers  watched 
the  door  with  every  sense  strained  to  its  utmost 
faculty  to  perceive.  Then  the  coolness  of  a  hard- 
ened adventurer  deserted  Duffy  altogether. 

Yen  San,  the  cook,  resplendent  in  the  most  ex- 
travagant, gorgeous  raiment,  walked  solemnly  and 
regally  onto  the  veranda,  closely  followed  by  an- 
other Chinese  in  equally  wonderful  clothes  and  of 
an  amazing  similarity  of  figure  and  feature. 

In  silence  these  two  seated  themselves  opposite 
Jimmy  and  Duffy,  who  were  sitting  bolt  upright  in 
their  chairs — stiff  with  surprise.  Then  Yen  San 
waved  a  commanding  hand  at  the  little  officer,  who 
clicked  his  heels,  saluted,  and  stepped  smartly  off 
the  veranda,  disappearing  down  the  path.  After 
a  short,  pregnant  silence  Yen  San  said  slowly: 

"Allow  me  to  present  to  you  my  brother,  Ki- 
Wang-Toy,  Manchu  Prince,  and  myself,  Fu-Sang, 
also  Manchu  Prince.  These,  my  brother,  are  Miss 
Fellowes  and  Mr.  Duff,  my  very  honorable  com- 
panions of  whom  I  have  spoken." 

Ki-Wang-Toy  inclined  a  gracious  head  and  fixed 


3i2        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

them  with  an  unblinking  stare.    Duffy  mustered 
his  shattered  thoughts. 

"How  d'ye  do?"  he  said,  and  then  burst  out: 
"What  the  deuce  does  all  this  mean,  Yen  San? 
Manchu  Princes?  I  don't  understand!"  His  mind 
whirled  as  he  tried  to  grasp  the  meaning  of  this 
startling  turn  of  events.  Beyond  one  crushing  fact, 
that  the  Treasure  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  these 
two,  he  could  comprehend  nothing  of  what  it  meant. 
The  whole  fabric  of  the  adventure  had  been  com- 
pletely upset  and  re-arranged,  and  as  he  recognized 
it,  he  was  acutely  conscious  that  the  whip-hand  was 
his  no  longer.  The  full  realization  of  the  calamity 
grew  and  grew  upon  him  as  Yen  San,  Manchu 
Prince,  conveyed  to  him  in  slow,  carefully-worded 
sentences  the  death-blow  to  the  grand  and  successful 
finale  he  so  ardently  desired. 

"I  will  explain  to  you,  my  friend,  for  friend  you 
certainly  have  been,  Mr.  Duff,  those  parts  of  this 
story  you  may  not  fully  comprehend";  the  China- 
man's voice  was  softly  modulated,  kindly  and  very 
patient.  "You  have  been  wondering,  no  doubt,  how 
it  happens  that  Yen  San,  the  cook,  should  appear 
before  you  in  these  strange  clothes  and  seated  on 
this  veranda.  Chi'ung-To  has  for  many  years  been 
the  island  home  of  the  Manchu  Princes;  here,  far 


POETIC  JUSTICE  313 

from  the  homes  of  other  men,  it  has  been  our  custom 
to  rest  from  the  wearying  task  of  governing  the 
Celestial  Empire.  I  must  pray  you  excuse  the  sur- 
prise we  have  caused  you  and  let  me  explain  how  it  is 
that  you  are  here — where  no  Westerner  has  ever  set 
foot." 

Yen  Sen  paused  a  moment  and  then  continued: 
"Many  years  ago  the  jade  of  the  Royal  House 
was  stolen  from  the  reigning  Princes  by  a  scoundrel 
and  a  traitor.  I  speak  of  Von  Splatz.  Von  Splatz, 
as  you  know,  my  friend,  sought  to  turn  the  trust 
that  was  imposed  upon  him  into  a  means  for  his  own 
profit.  He  stole  and  hid  away  the  most  cherished 
possessions  of  the  Manchu  Princes.  To  his  own 
country  he  returned,  died,  and  passed  on  his  secret 
to  his  wife,  who  afterwards  sold  it  to  an  Englishman; 
your  employer,  Mr.  Duff.  Now  I  pledged  myself  to 
my  brothers  that  I  would  seek  through  the  world 
till  I  found  that  secret.  Many  times  since  the  evil 
day  on  which  Von  Splatz  left  Peking  have  I  come 
near  to  learning  what  I  desired  so  strongly  to  learn, 
but  many  times  did  Fortune  turn  from  me. 

"At  last  when  'The  Rose  of  Washington  Square' 
set  forth  to  seek  the  Treasure,  Fortune  smiled  upon 
me  and  my  house.  From  the  beginning  to  this  end 
— when  our  jade  is  again  our  own — the  gods  of  Des- 


3i4       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

tiny  were  with  me.  Even  while  Death  sought  us 
that  misty  night,  when  all  seemed  lost,  we  escaped 
and  brought  the  jade  to  its  home.  By  your  aid,  my 
friends,  we  achieved  an  impossible  thing.  When  I 
obtained  that  most  uncomfortable  post  of  cook  on 
'The  Rose  of  Washington  Square'  I  knew  not  how 
the  thing  was  to  be  accomplished.  Almost  did  it 
accomplish  itself.  It  is  well." 

Yen  San  ceased,  and  through  the  daze  that 
fogged  and  bewildered,  Duffy  saw  the  smile  on  the 
Chinaman's  face,  the  smile  like  a  sudden  glow  of 
sunshine  over  a  ripe  corn-field.  Would  to  God  he 
had  never  seen  that  smile! 

With  a  rage  of  disappointment  that  drove  all  the 
patience  and  acceptance  of  the  inevitable  from  his 
mind,  Duffy  whipped  Elizabeth  from  her  holster 
with  a  speed  that  he  had  never  before  equaled,  and 
covered  Yen  San  with  her  unflinching  barrel. 
Through  the  calm  recital  that  the  Chinaman  had 
just  concluded,  Duffy's  realization  of  the  appalling 
failure  in  which  his  adventure  had  culminated  had 
grown  and  grown  until  its  horror  and  significance 
struck  him  like  physical  blows.  He  would  have  to 
return  to  Mr.  Northcote  a  beaten  and  humiliated 
man.  Beaten  not  by  superior  craft  but  simply  by 
luck — sheer  luck.  How  could  he  have  known  that 


POETIC  JUSTICE  315 

Yen  San's  offer  to  take  them  to  Chi'ung-To  held 
such  an  ulterior  motive  as  this? 

And  Jimmy — his  heart  might  yearn  for  her,  his 
mind  be  absorbed  in  thoughts  of  her — but  to  what 
end?  She  was  linked  fast  to  the  Treasure  of  the 
Manchus — he  could  not  have  the  one  without  the 
other;  throughout  the  adventure  he  had  held  that 
rigidly  before  him.  He  flung  his  words,  sharp  and 
incisive,  across  the  veranda: 

"Yen  San,  you  cunning  devil.  I  trusted  you — 
saved  your  life — made  a  friend  of  you  on  a  boat 
where  no  one  had  a  word  for  'the  yellow  dog' — and 
this  is  my  reward!  This  is  what  you  do  to  me! 
You've  ruined  me!  Irretrievably!  And  so  now  I 
am  going  to  shoot  you  where  you  sit!  Your  men 
can  kill  me  afterwards,  but  you  shall  go  first!" 

His  finger  tightened  on  the  trigger. 

"You  are  going  to  die,  Yen  San,  Manchu  Prince," 
he  said  quietly. 

"No,"  said  Yen  San. 

"Yes!" 

"I  am  not  going  to  die,"  said  Yen  San  evenly. 
"Because,  my  friend,  you  possess  what  all  great  men 
possess.  You  possess  a  sense  of  justice." 

"Justice — what  do  you  mean?  Do  you  call  steal- 
ing a  man's  very  life  from  him  justice?" 


3i6        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Very  life?"  said  Yen  San. 

"All  that  makes  life  worth  while,  anyway,"  said 
Duffy. 

"But  jade:  does  jade  make  life  worth  while? 
There  are  surely  other  things  besides  jade?" 

"There  are,"  said  Duffy  bitterly,  "and  I'm  think- 
ing of  them." 

There  was  a  sudden  silence,  tense  and  full;  almost 
unconsciously  they  all  realized  what  he  meant.  Yen 
San  looked  at  Jimmy — and  smiled  his  wise  and 
benevolent  smile.  Then  he  turned  to  Duffy  and 
said: 

"My  friend,  let  us  deal  with  the  matter  of  the  jade. 
I  want  to  show  you  the  justice  of  this  end.  By  what 
name  do  you  call  the  Treasure?" 

"The  Treasure  of  the  Manchus,"  said  Duffy, 
furious  with  himself  for  not  shooting  the  Chinaman. 
He  was  a  failure. 

".  .  .  of  the  Manchus";  Yen  San  echoed  his  last 
words.  "The  Treasure  of  the  Manchus,"  and  he 
spread  out  his  thin,  sensitive  hands  in  an  eloquent 
gesture.  "For  to  the  Manchus  does  it  belong." 

For  a  long  minute  silence  fell  upon  them  again. 
It  was  the  great  moment,  the  great  climax,  in  the 
adventure.  It  was  the  right  ending,  and  in  spite 


POETIC  JUSTICE  317 

of  its  shattering  consequence  to  himself,  Duffy 
recognized  it. 

He  took  his  eyes  from  Yen  San,  looked  down  at 
Elizabeth,  vicious  and  deadly,  and  turning  his  head, 
looked  deep  into  the  girl's  eyes.  The  hunger  of  her 
heart — "the  sort  of  pain" — lay  in  their  dark 
shadows,  and  slowly  comprehension  grew  in  Duffy's 
mind.  Apart  from  the  gratification  of  his  profes- 
sional pride,  what,  after  all,  was  the  value  to  him 
of  the  Treasure  of  the  Manchus? 

He  flung  back  his  head  and  laughed — a  laugh  of 
pure  relief.  He  had  succeeded  in  separating  Jimmy 
from  the  jade  and  had  seen  in  her  eyes  the  answer 
to  the  problem  that  his  own  mind  had  created.  In 
hers  it  had  never  existed.  To  her  this  apparent  fail- 
ure was  neither  here  nor  there;  it  became  an  inci- 
dental that  faded  into  small  significance  in  the  light 
of  a  far  greater,  far  more  important  thing  that  had 
come  to  them  both.  Failure?  Indeed,  it  was  suc- 
cess! 

In  the  jubilance  of  his  heart,  Duffy  turned  to 
Yen  San. 

"The  Treasure  of  the  Manchus,"  he  said  quietly, 
"has  returned  to  the  Manchus.  It  is  well."  And 
he  slid  Elizabeth  back  into  her  holster. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT 

BUT  although  Duffy  had  more  or  less  settled  the 
problem  of  his  heart,  we  have  still  to  look  into  the 
matter  of  his  mind  and  see  how  his  professional 
pride  came  out  of  the  adventure. 

Concerning  this  duality  of  the  matter,  I  think  we 
might  call  his  pride  the  head  aspect;  the  heart 
aspect  to  be  found  in  his  relations  with  Jimmy. 

Throughout  the  adventure  these  two  aspects  had 
been  closely  bound  together — first  the  one,  then  the 
other  predominating  in  what  must  have  been  to 
Duffy  a  bewildering  confusion.  This  confusion  dis- 
appeared in  the  actual  losing  of  the  jade  when  he 
discovered  that  the  girl  did  not  attach  the  impor- 
tance to  it  that  he  had  somehow  supposed  she  would; 
on  the  heels  of  that  discovery  came  the  realization 
that  the  success  of  winning  the  jade  was  superficial 
compared  to  the  far  more  fundamental  importance 
of  success  in  winning  the  girl.  Thus  were  the  two 
aspects  separated  and  given  their  proper  values. 

But  we  must  not  leave  any  loose  ends.  We  must 
318 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT          319 

follow  the  matter  up,  for  Duffy,  conscientious  still 
with  regard  to  his  employer,  decided  that  although 
Jimmy  came  first  in  his  immediate  ambitions,  he 
must  be  patient  and  clear  up  the  hash  he  had  made 
of  Mr.  Northcote's  venture  as  best  he  could  before 
making  any  actual,  definite  declaration  of  his  love 
to  the  girl.  It  sounds  weird,  but  Duff  was  weird, 
and  we  must  take  him  as  we  find  him.  It  is  clear 
that  a  great  many  men  would  have  found  no  time, 
in  their  consideration  of  the  girl,  to  worry  about  the 
effect  of  their  failure  on  a  distant,  far-away  em- 
ployer who  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  have 
employed  him. 

Yet  Duffy,  attribute  it  to  what  you  will,  was  dif- 
ferent— he  carried  the  thing  through — and  inciden- 
tally, I  think,  made  a  more  clear-cut  finish  to  the 
story  artistically  than  might  otherwise  have  been 
the  case. 

We  will  go  back,  before  Duffy  and  Jimmy,  to  the 
Cafe  where  the  adventure  had  its  earliest  beginning 
when  the  little  collector  had  strolled  down  the  room 
to  Duffy's  table  and  had  introduced  himself  to  him 
and  his  two  friends — Binks  and  Mac  Arthur. 

Those  two  friends  walked  to  that  same  table  one 
bleak  December  day,  six  months  after  the  eventful 


320        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

fortnight  that  had  torn  their  Duffy  away  from  them. 
It  had  been  a  loss,  his  going,  a  loss  they  only  real- 
ized later  when  their  fitful  attempts  to  find  a  fitting 
third  for  the  combine  failed  dismally.  Much  as  they 
had  laughed  and  amused  themselves  at  Duffy's  ex- 
pense, they  found  that  one  can  only  do  that  with 
a  particularly  patient  soul.  Duffy's  successors  had 
not  been  patient  souls. 

Therefore  they  were  alone  when  they  came  to  the 
usual  table,  but  it  was  none  the  less  annoying  to 
find  that  all  four  chairs  were  leaning  forward  to 
show  they  were  engaged — inclusively  engaged. 

Binks  called  Trixie,  peremptorily. 

"Why  is  our  table  engaged?"  he  demanded. 

"Is  this  the  sort  of  treatment  that  should  be  ac- 
corded time-honored  customers?"  asked  MacArthur, 
a  wealth  of  injury  in  his  voice.  "This  has  never 
happened  before!"  And  he  frowned  heavily  at  the 
unfortunate  waitress.  He  regarded  this  as  another 
insidious  attempt  to  prise  him  from  his  sacred  rut. 

"I'm  very  sorry,  sir,  but  I  couldn't  help  it,"  Trixie 
said.  "A  gentleman  came  in  about  half-an-hour 
ago  and  said  he  wanted  a  table  for  four — that  table. 
He  wouldn't  have  no  other!  He's  coming  back  at 
one  o'clock.  He'll  be  here  any  minute,  now.  Won't 
those  seats  over  there  do?" 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT  321 

"No!"  said  MacArthur.  "Where's  the  mana- 
geress?" 

"It's  no  good  asking  her,"  said  Trixie.  "The 
gentleman  arranged  it  with  her." 

"Curse  these  stockbrokers!"  MacArthur  snarled. 
"I  suppose  he  was  a  stockbroker?" 

"Indeed,  sir,  I  don't  know.  He  was  an  old  gen- 
tleman." 

"Then  he  ought  to  know  better,"  he  said.  "First 
the  bookstall  goes  and  sells  its  last  copy  of  'John  O' 
London'  and  then  you  go  and  let  any  wandering 
stockbroker  collar  our — our  table!"  He  looked 
round  at  the  Cafe  with  soured  eyes. 

"All  right,"  said  Binks  soothingly,  "we  can  sit 
over  there,  Mac,  for  to-day.  Can  we  have  this  table 
to-morrow,  Trixie?" 

"Yes,  sir,  of  course  you  can.  I  really  couldn't 
help  it,  really,  I  couldn't." 

Gloomily  MacArthur  followed  Binks  to  the  other 
table,  which  was  just  across  the  gangway,  and 
gloomily  he  surveyed  the  menu. 

He  had  mentally  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
could  not  fare  better  than  on  steak,  fried  potatoes 
and  a  Bass,  when  Binks  suddenly  said: 

"Hello!  There's  Duffy's  friend,  Mr.  Northcote; 
he's  the  chap  who  got  hold  of  our  table!" 


322        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Ha!"  snapped  MacArthur,  and  jumped  to  his 
feet.  "I'll  ask  him  to  find  another  one."  And  be- 
fore Binks  could  stop  him  he  had  crossed  the  room. 

"Ass,"  commented  Binks,  and  he  followed  his 
friend  with  the  intention  of  keeping  him  as  cool  as 
the  blood  of  many  Border  kings  would  permit.  He 
felt  sometimes  that  MacArthur  carried  this  sort  of 
business  to  unnecessary  extremes.  It  was  almost 
a  mania  with  him,  a  disturbing  mania. 

MacArthur  reached  the  little  collector,  who  for 
all  that  six  long  months  had  passed  had  not  changed 
at  all.  Indeed,  except  for  the  fact  that  his  expensive 
overcoat  was  heavier  and  fur-collared,  it  might  have 
been  only  yesterday  that  he  had  come  into  their 
lives  and  sown  the  seed  of  real  adventure  in  Duffy's 
heart. 

He  recognized  MacArthur  at  once  and  had  seized 
his  hand  in  a  welcoming  clasp  before  that  aggra- 
vated scion  of  Border  kings  could  speak. 

"My  dear  sir,  I  am  so  glad,  so  glad  you  could 
come,"  said  the  little  man;  "I  was  afraid  you  might 
have  been  prevented.  You  see,  I  made  sure  of  our 
table.  Oh,  yes,  and  there  is  the  other  young  man." 
And  he  relinquished  his  hold  of  MacArthur's  hand 
to  grasp  that  of  Binks. 

"How  do  you  do,"  said  Binks,  who  was  as  sur- 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT          323 

prised  as  his  friend,  but  better  able  to  respond,  since 
his  confusion  was  not  rendered  speechless  by  his 
rage.  Binks  had  not  the  tenacious  affection  for  the 
sacred  rut  as  had  MacArthur. 

"He  is  about  due,"  said  Mr.  Northcote,  and  took 
an  extravagant  gold  watch  from  his  pocket. 

"Due?"  said  MacArthur,  whose  interest  was 
aroused.  "Who  is  due?" 

"Don't  you  know?"  asked  the  little  man  in  sur- 
prise. "Didn't  he  cable  you  as  well?" 

"Who?" 

"Mr.  Duff." 

"Duffy!"  said  the  two  together.    "Duffy!" 

"Yes;  look  here."  And  the  little  man  pulled 
out  a  bulging  pocket  book,  took  from  it  a  cable- 
gram, and  handed  it  to  MacArthur. 

"  'Meet  friend  and  self  at  usual  cafe  table 
fourteenth  one  o'clock.    Duff.' ' 

he  read  out,  then  added:  "Funny  thing  he  did  not 
let  us  know." 

"Yes,  I  was  quite  sure  'friend'  should  have  read 
'friends,'  and  by  the  word  he  meant  you  two  young 
men.  I  suppose  he  is  bringing  some  one  with  him. 
We  must  have  another  chair." 


324        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"I  suppose  he  wants  us,"  said  MacArthur  doubt- 
fully. 

"Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  Binks.  "Why  should  he 
waste  money  on  a  cable  when  he  knew  perfectly  well 
we  should  be  here  anyhow?" 

"How?"  asked  MacArthur.  "Suppose  we  had 
changed  our  .  .  ." 

Binks  gave  a  short  laugh.  MacArthur  turned  on 
him  suddenly,  scowling. 

"Owl,"  he  snarled. 

They  asked  Trixie  to  bring  another  chair,  gave 
her  their  orders,  and  fell  to  discussing  things. 

"Do  you  think  he  managed  to  get  the  jade?" 
asked  Binks. 

The  little  collector  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"He  may  have  or  he  may  have  not,"  he  said. 
"One  never  knows,  but  he  struck  me  as  being  a  very 
capable  young  man." 

"He's  capable  enough,"  said  MacArthur. 
"But " 

"But  what?" 

"Oh,  well,  he's  a  little  wild,  you  know." 

"Wild?" 

"What  Mac  means,"  broke  in  Binks,  "is  that 
Duffy  would  never  stand  for  acquired  habits." 

The  little  man  looked  perplexed,  and  Binks  told 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT  325 

him  about  the  sacred  rut.  At  the  end  of  it  the  col- 
lector took  out  his  watch. 

"One  o'clock,"  he  said. 

Almost  as  he  spoke  a  hush  came  from  the  outer 
room  of  the  crowded  Cafe.  They  could  not  see  it 
from  their  table,  and  their  eyes  went  to  the  wide 
doorway  between  the  two  rooms  in  expectancy  and 
were  gratified,  even  as  the  same  hush  came  over 
their  room. 

Duffy  entered,  and  by  his  side  was  a  girl,  a  beau- 
tiful girl,  attired  in  a  ravishing  fur  coat  of  Chinese- 
fox,  with  a  toque  of  the  same  fur  on  her  head,  the 
black  hair  curling  from  beneath  its  white  edge.  Yen 
San  had  given  Jimmy  the  skins,  the  most  beautiful 
skins  that  the  Celestial  Empire  can  produce,  and  in 
Shanghai  they  had  been  made  into  a  coat  and  toque, 
on  a  design  submitted  by  Duffy.  He  was  justly 
proud  of  the  effect — the  effect,  no  doubt,  that  pro- 
duced the  hush  in  the  startled  Cafe. 

Duffy  was  sunburned,  and  his  overcoat  empha- 
sized by  its  heaviness  the  fact  that  a  warmer  sun 
had  not  long  since  beaten  down  on  him.  Also  he 
looked  bigger  and  infinitely  more  healthy  and,  need- 
less to  say,  infinitely  an  adventurer. 

They  made  their  way  past  the  interested  patrons 
to  the  table  where  the  little  collector  and  the  other 


326        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

two  were  awaiting  them.  MacArthur  fixed  his  eyes 
firmly  on  Jimmy  and  kept  them  there — firmly. 
Only  Binks  noticed  the  solemn  expression  on  Duffy's 
face  and  his  air  of  discomfort  through  the  next  few 
minutes.  An  air  that  only  brightened  when  he 
introduced  Jimmy  to  them;  afterwards,  when  he 
ordered  their  food,  it  settled  about  him  again.  Binks 
was  unhappy.  It  looked  to  him  very  much  as 
though  Duffy  had  failed. 

The  little  collector,  trained  by  constant  dealing 
with  men,  displayed  none  of  the  eagerness  Binks 
expected  he  would  show  in  his  anxiety  to  hear  the 
result  of  the  expedition.  He  was  patient,  and  ap- 
parently far  more  interested  in  his  food. 

Hardly  a  word  was  spoken  during  the  first  course 
— Jimmy  was  subdued  and  downcast.  Duffy  saw 
it,  and  felt  a  wave  of  gratitude  sweep  over  him. 
She  realized  the  heavy  cost  his  confession  of  failure 
would  mean  to  him. 

When  Trixie  had  carried  away  the  plates,  Duffy 
took  off  his  horn-rimmed  spectacles,  polished  them, 
and  gave  a  little  preparatory  cough.  The  table 
waited. 

Then  he  spoke,  and  the  fact  that  they  all  hung  on 
his  lips  gave  him  little  satisfaction.  Had  he  had 
better  news  to  impart  it  might  have  been  different. 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT          327 

"Mr.  Northcote,"  he  began,  "I  am  going  to  tell 
you  the  whole  story  as  it  happened,  incident  for 
incident,  point  for  point,  dwelling  on  the  little  de- 
tails which  always  make  or  mar  any  story.  Miss 
Fellowes  here  has  been  through  the  whole  adven- 
ture with  me  and  she  will  bear  witness  that  I  give 
it  you  accurately  and  that  I  leave  out  nothing.  In- 
deed, for  her  peace  of  mind  it  would  be  kinder  if  I 
did,  for  some  of  it  cannot  bring  anything  but  pain 
to  her."  Duffy's  voice  was  slow  and  methodical; 
almost  reminiscent  of  Yen  San's.  In  places  he  might 
have  been  accused  of  pomposity,  but  he  must  t>e 
forgiven  that  when  one  realizes  that  he  had  been 
arranging  and  re-arranging  the  things  he  was  to  say 
at  this  dismal  moment  all  the  way  from  Chi'ung-To 
to  Shanghai,  and  from  Shanghai  home. 

The  little  collector  nodded  and  Duffy  continued. 
He  kept  his  eyes  on  the  fan-light  above  his  head, 
and  told  them  the  whole  story. 

He  told  them  of  the  gradual  working  up  to  the 
climax  where  success  and  the  Treasure  of  the  Man- 
chus  waited  for  him  on  Taiho  Shan.  The  actual 
finding  of  it  and  getting  it  into  the  long-boat;  the 
fight  to  keep  it  from  the  big  man;  the  death  of 
Honest  Pig;  the  escape  with  Yen  San  and  Jimmy 
carrying  away  the  jade  to  a  place  of  safety — only 


328        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

to  find  that  by  so  doing  he  had  played  into  the  hands 
of  the  most  dangerous  rival  he  had;  and  the  last 
scene  of  the  story  on  Chi'ung-To  where  the  Treas- 
ure returned  to  its  real  owners. 

It  made  thrilling  listening  to  the  three  who  knew 
not  the  open  sea,  and  the  wild  excitement  that  the 
ends  of  the  earth  can  show,  and  when  Duffy  had 
finished,  they  sat  silent  for  a  long  moment,  grasping 
the  amazing  things  that  had  happened  to  him  and 
this  beautiful  girl.  And  though  Duffy  had  made  no 
reference  to  his  feelings  about  her,  they  felt  and 
realized  their  existence.  Even,  I  think,  as  did  the 
little  collector,  for  all  that  that  aspect  of  life  had 
passed  him  years  ago. 

"And  so,"  said  Duffy  quietly,  "I  have  failed." 

The  little  collector  looked  at  him  hard,  and  said 
nothing.  He  seemed  a  little  mesmerized  by  the  fast 
and  furious  course  that  the  adventure  had  taken. 

Then  Duffy  put  his  hand  in  his  breast  pocket  and 
drew  forth  a  little  blue  silk  bag,  and  began  untying 
the  cord  that  bound  it.  They  all  watched  him.  He 
emptied  its  contents  into  his  palm  and  banged  it 
down  on  the  table,  disappointment  and  humiliation 
ripe  in  his  heart.  The  silence  unnerved  him  a  little 
— frank  expression  of  the  collector's  feelings  would 
have  been  easier  to  bear. 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT          329 

"These,"  said  Duffy,  "are  all  I  have  to  show  for 
the  last  six  months — Yen  San  gave  them  to  me  and 
told  me  they  would  pay  for  the  expedition,  pay  for 
my  help  in  finding  his  jade,  and  .  .  .  and  leave  me 
one  over  for  something  else." 

And  he  took  his  hand  away  and  exposed  four 
dull  green  pebbles  about  the  size  of  thrush's  eggs. 
Uninteresting  pebbles  they  were,  and  not  at  all  ro- 
mantic-looking. 

"I  don't  know  what  they  are,"  Duffy  added. 

"They  may  be  valuable  on  Chi'ung-To,  but " 

And  he  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

The  other  four  looked  at  them  in  silence  for  a 
moment,  while  Duffy  once  again  removed  his  spec- 
tacles and  began  polishing  them.  Then  the  little 
collector  shot  an  eager  hand  across  the  table  and 
seized  the  pebbles  with  trembling  fingers. 

"God  bless  my  soul,  God  bless  my  soul,"  he  whis- 
pered. "Valuable  on  Chi'ung-To!  Valuable  .  .  . 
God  bless  my  soul!" 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Duffy,  and  he  put 
his  glasses  on  his  nose. 

The  little  man  placed  the  four  pebbles  on  the  table 
between  them,  and  gazed  at  Duffy  with  an  extraordi- 
nary expression  in  his  eyes.  Almost  were  they  wor- 
shiping. He  choked  a  little,  and  said: 


330        THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

"Young  man,  young  man,  you  have  got  there  four 
of  the  finest  emeralds  Europe  has  ever  seen."  His 
voice  was  high-pitched  with  emotion  as  he  added: 

"I  am  a  dealer  in  precious  stones.  I  know  what 
I  am  saying.  Those  are  four  of  the  finest  uncut 
emeralds  in  the  world." 

In  a  flash  Duffy  remembered  his  first  impression 
of  the  little  man:  "dealer  in  precious  stones!" 

"Emeralds!"  he  said  a  little  helplessly,  and  look- 
ing across  at  Jimmy,  saw  the  brightness  of  her  eyes. 

"Yes,"  said  the  collector,  "emeralds.  You  must 
leave  this  matter  entirely  to  me.  Pay  for  the  ex- 
pedition !  God  bless  my  soul !  They  would  pay  for 
twenty  expeditions!  Listen,  Mr.  Duff.  I  will  take 
the  finest  of  these  emeralds.  I  do  not  want  it  for 
the  money  it  would  bring.  I  want  to  possess  the 
finest  emerald  in  the  world.  If  I  ever  give  up  my 
hobby,  collecting  jade,  I  will  collect  emeralds.  This 
shall  be  the  first.  Two  of  the  others  I  will  have  cut 
and  sold  for  you,  the  last — well,  you  will  want  to 
use  it  for  something  else.  Yen  San  was  a  wise  and 
an  observant  man  when  he  said  you  would  need  it. 
I  will  have  it  cut  as  it  should  be  cut,  and  set  as 
it  should  be  set."  And  in  the  midst  of  his  transport 
of  excitement  the  little  man  permitted  himself  to 
wink — youthfully. 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT          331 

Duffy  thanked  heaven  that  Jimmy  did  not  see  it 
— she  was  examining  one  of  the  emeralds  with  specu- 
lative eyes. 

Binks  and  Mac  Arthur  exchanged  glances,  and 
then  looked  at  Duffy.  It  was  so  exactly  like  him 
to  carry  four  of  the  finest  emeralds  hi  the  world 
about  in  his  pocket  without  knowing  it — but  it  did 
not  detract  from  their  pride  in  him.  He  had  vindi- 
cated the  combine. 

The  most  amazed  of  the  five  was  really  Duffy; 
and  it  was  not  only  due  to  the  unexpectedness  of 
this  turn  of  the  adventure  he  thought  had  finished, 
but  also  to  the  sudden  and  complete  reversal  of  all 
his  emotions.  As  far  as  he  could  see  the  little  col- 
lector was  a  great  deal  more  overjoyed  that  he  should 
have  returned  with  emeralds  than  that  he  should 
have  brought  back  the  jade  he  had  been  sent  out  to 
find. 

Again  he  looked  at  Jimmy — things  were  different 
now  and  much  of  the  practical  side  of  the  problem 
had  been  solved  in  this  magical  way. 

The  little  man  picked  up  the  emeralds,  and  after 
putting  them  in  their  bag,  hid  them  away  in  his 
pocket — tenderly. 

The  conversation  became  general  and  the  whole 
story  was  told  and  re-told,  discussed  and  re-dis- 


332       THE  QUALIFIED  ADVENTURER 

cussed.  They  held  a  perfect  orgy  over  it  until  well 
into  the  afternoon. 

It  was  through  a  deserted  Cafe  that  they  made  a 
leisurely  way  to  the  cashier's  desk;  the  tables  had 
emptied  themselves  of  their  feasting  crowd  some 
while  ago.  Even  the  waitresses  had  disappeared 
after  setting  the  tables  for  tea. 

The  collector,  between  Binks  and  MacArthur,  led 
the  procession  through  the  doorway,  while  Duffy  and 
the  girl  brought  up  the  rear.  The  little  man  was 
explaining  to  an  interested  audience  the  process  of 
cutting  and  polishing  precious  stones. 

At  the  doorway  between  the  two  rooms  Duffy 
halted  as  though  struck  by  an  absorbing  idea.  He 
gazed  up  at  the  ceiling  for  a  moment,  and  then 
seized  Jimmy  by  the  arm  and  with  very  little  ten- 
derness, pulled  her  back  out  of  sight. 

"Jimmy,"  he  said  softly,  "we've  won,  we've  won!" 

"Yes,"  said  the  girl.  "And  I'm  very,  very  glad." 
And  she  looked  at  the  detaining  hand  on  her  arm. 

"Well,"  he  went  on,  "I  am  going  to  buy  a  boat, 
outfit  her  and  then  I  am  going  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  in  her."  He  looked  at  her  with  the  deter- 
mined expression  of  a  qualified  adventurer  and  added 
distinctly: 

"And  I  am  going  to  take  you  with  me.    We  are 


AND  HE  LEFT  IT  AT  THAT  333 

going  to  get  married  to-morrow!"  He  almost 
scowled  at  her,  so  determined  was  his  face. 

Jimmy  flushed  and  tried  to  smile — she  even  tried 
to  say  something,  but  failed  hopelessly. 

After  all,  what  can  a  girl  do  with  a  hardened 
adventurer  when  he  seizes  her  with  extreme  sudden- 
ness by  the  shoulders  and  kisses  her  violently?  He 
is  rather  a  proposition. 

At  the  door  Duffy  met  the  inquiring  glances  of 
his  friends  with  an  airy  wave  of  his  hand. 
"Glove,"  he  said  shortly.    "I  left  it  behind." 
The  adventure  was  complete,  and  he  left  it  at 
that. 


m  ther 
ofts  o/l 


A     000127954     6 


i; 


;  Hilli 


,!!'. 


